The Center for Biological Diversity has taken one more shot in protecting a popular, and highly imperiled, sushi fish. The organization has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service challenging a new rule. According to the organization this new rule will only increase overfishing for bluefin tuna which is already on the brink of extinction.
In the lawsuit it is also mentioned that this new rule would allow for “dramatic expansion” of commercial fishing on the U.S. East Coast. Western Atlantic bluefin tuna numbers have declined more than 80 percent since 1970. Catherine Kilduff, a staff attorney at the Center, said that this rule enables fishermen to chase the remaining bluefin tuna down the Atlantic Coast on their way to reproduce in the Gulf of Mexico.
As per the list of federal official bluefin tuna is a species of special concern or endangered species that falls short of formalizing any protections. A movement to stop or slow the fishing for bluefin tuna is on the floor globally. But in Japan this fish is a coveted one. A typical fish might sell for more than $10,000, while one record-setting fish sold for nearly $400,000. There’s a public bluefin tuna boycott that restaurants and consumers are using to bring attention to the issue.
