U.S. Ban + Bluefish Tuna+ Rate of Extinction

The U.S. is supporting a ban on the trade of Bluefin Tuna, which a common in sushi  restaurants around the U.S. and world, especially in Japan. Research has shown that the population has declined by 80% since 1970 and the fish are now being placed on the endangered species list.

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309051819

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.

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 bluefin will fall to 6% of historic levels.

Will we actively cause the extinction of a species for our own selfish needs. And if we go down this road what will the consequences be for future generations of people and animals that we consume.