us supports ban

In a decision that had many in the conservation world holding their breaths, the United States on Wednesday announced it is supporting an effort to ban the international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a species whose population has plummeted because of its extreme popularity among consumers of sushi and sashimi.

Research shows its population has declined more than 80% since 1970.

These tuna are considered the gold standard of high-end sushi, where their meat is called maguro. Japan, which consumes the majority of bluefin tuna fished, has said it will not take part in the trade ban.

There are two populations, the eastern and western bluefin, that would be affected by the ban. The western Atlantic population lives from the Gulf of Mexico to Newfoundland. The eastern Atlantic population ranges from the Canary Islands to south of Iceland.

While previously it was believed they were entirely separate, some evidence has now been put forward showing there is more genetic mixing that was previously known between the two groups.

The U.S. backing global trade prohibition of the beleaguered fish comes ten days before almost 175 countries meet to debate the proposal at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference in Doha, Qatar. The proposal, sponsored by Monaco, would prohibit international commercial trade in the species.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has predicted that if current levels of fishing continue, the Eastern Atlantic population of bluefins will fall to 6% of historic levels.

The decision by the United States "could be a real game changer for the species," Susan Lieberman, director of international policy at the Pew Environment Group, said in a statement. "Other governments can either join Monaco and the United States in boldly supporting the conservation of bluefin tuna, sharks and other marine species or they can yield to commercial fishing interests that focus more on short-term profits than a sustainable future for both fish and local fishing communities."

Other conservation measures being considered at the meeting include several to protect sharks, endangered in part because of a brisk trade in their fins for sharks fin soup, popular in China and throughout Asia.