The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a legal petition asking the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna.
Pacific bluefin has suffered a 96 percent decline since large-scale fishing began, triggering a requirement for the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) to recommend new regulations for managing the fishery by 8 April. According to the center, PFMC decline to take any action.
“Despite the bluefin tuna’s great speed and deep-diving, it can’t escape the world’s insatiable appetite for sushi,” said Catherine Kilduff, center attorney. “Saving Pacific bluefin tuna requires drastic action at all levels, starting by protecting them in the feeding grounds off California and Mexico.”
The petition calls for NMFS to add Pacific bluefin to a list of imperiled species that must be released immediately if caught. According to the center, while the U.S. sport fishery still catches bluefin tuna, often by traveling to Mexico’s waters, the U.S. commercial fishery for Pacific tuna is a “relic,” with only sporadic catches in recent decades. Most of of the bluefin caught along the West Coast are juvniles.
“The days of seeing 9-foot bluefin tuna in the Pacific are sadly few and far between. U.S. fishery managers shouldn’t sit idly by while some of our ocean’s most magnificent fish get picked off before adulthood,” said Kilduff. “Failing to take every action possible to prevent the extinction of Pacific bluefin tuna would be a tragic mistake.”
