Bluefin tuna are in dire straits, and apparently U.S. sushi-eaters aren’t helping.
According to a press release from several environmental groups, export figures from the European Union show that up to 3,341 tons of bluefin were exported from the European Union to the U.S. between 1998 and June last year. The figures were compiled by an investigator for the film, The End of the Line, a documentary about overfishing that had a screening at the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this week.
In 2008 the US was a net importer of bluefin, bringing in 360 metric tons from around the world, notably the Mediterranean, compared with the 266 metric tons that were caught domestically, according to the groups’ statement. They include the nonprofits Oceana and Greenpeace and staff from the film. Bluefin is worth nearly $9 a pound on average,so the total trade in the United States is worth nearly $100 million a year, they said.
Their statement says the EU is likely to support a proposal to ban all international trade in bluefin tuna by listing it under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). And the group wants the U.S. to add its support.
Charles Clover, author of the book, The End of the Line, on which the film is based, said: “I think people in the United States tend to think of the collapse of the bluefin as a tragedy going on a long way off. In fact, they could be helping save a whole species by calling on the US Government to listing the bluefin on Cites Appendix 1 and insisting that the restaurants they eat at do not serve tuna from the collapsing and rampantly overfished Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean population.”
Fish2fork, a website that reviews fish restaurants for their sustainability, was launched in the U.S. on Jan. 15. From what I can tell, it’s not exactly a complete listing just yet. Nor could I find any way to search for a restaurant to check it out. But it has a “top ten” list for the U.S. and a “bottom ten.” It mentions one restaurant in this area — Starfish Brasserie in Bethlehem, which is on the top ten list.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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