Fail The Bluefin, Wake A Sleeping Giant

In the last year thousands, if not millions of average people now know that the bluefin tuna is in serious trouble and the managers of this fishery have not taken sufficient measures to avoid a collapse. But then the question becomes why are we doing this to the bluefin tuna? The simple, but yet embarrassing fact is that we are relentlessly killing these fish to freeze and send to foreign nations, mostly Japan, for wealthy people around the world the pleasure of indulging in a delicacy. Are we curing a disease here? No. Are we feeding a people in need? No. I think it’s fair to say that most everyone who orders bluefin tuna at a restaurant can order something else and still have a decent dining experience. So as an American citizen I do not condone this practice of relentlessly killing one of the world’s most glorious fishes to be served as a luxury item. I have faith in my government, the Obama Administration and those appointed to the management of the oceans like the head of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Dr. Jane Lubchenco and the heads of the US Bluefin Tuna Fisherman’s Association (ABTA) to reverse these atrocities.

Public opinion on this issue is the sleeping giant. Your opinion and comments make up the sleeping giant. How will people react to a collapsed bluefin tuna stock? How will people react if the bluefin tuna becomes the poster child for our failed efforts when it comes to ocean conservation? As someone who cares for the bluefin tuna this is the worst case scenario both for the bluefin and those who are currently charged with managing the stocks.

At present the international group charged with managing the bluefin stocks, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) just held a meeting in Brazil and despite advice from their own scientists to stop killing bluefin went ahead and decided its OK to risk killing another 13.5 metric tons this coming Spring. That does not count all the fish that will be killed illegally which can be twice the legal number. The real question is can the fish take another hit this Spring of 2010? ICCAT pegs the chances that the bluefin can survive another onslaught is 60%, or read another way the chance that the bluefin could collapse under their plan is 40%. Establishing a 40% chance of failure is unacceptable from the very agency that is charged with protecting this fish. Simply put the current recommendations serve the fisherman not the fish. That said it’s understandable that the fisherman will not put themselves out of business so it’s actually a decent effort at self regulation, but it’s not enough. The US delegation who went to ICCAT did make progress but it’s simply not enough at this late stage. We shouldn’t be killing more of these fish period. Is this the Darfur of our oceans? As an American citizen I would like to see my government not accept a 40% chance that the current plans will fail, and be left with a collapsed bluefin tuna stock.

Additionally, the other clause that I cannot explain to young people is the decision to kill bluefin tuna when they are spawning. I am aware that the 2010 killing period has been reduced, but again it's not enough at this point. I challenge anyone to provide a good argument for why we are killing bluefin tuna at the very point they are trying to ensure their survival.

I have been public with my support of the Amercian bluefin tuna harpoon and rod and reel fishery. I have no issue with taking bluefin tuna this way, under a sustainable quota. So this is not an attack on all harvesters, but rather a call for collective pressure to not accept the chance our beloved bluefin stocks can collapse. What if the stocks do collapse and fall the way of the Northern Cod - where they could not find their way back into the natural order and have yet to rebound? I don't want that on my hands, on my watch, to explain to college students 10 years from now who title a thesis, "Why The Bluefin Tuna Collpased."

Whose tuna are they anyway? I have been told that the fish in the sea are for the people. If this is so, does my vote and concern count? I certainly do not approve of small groups of privateers making decisions about the fish in the sea without some public balance. The bluefin tuna is the front line on our fight to improve the ways we harvest our oceans. To me and millions of other people around the globe, this issue will shape our views on how our current leaders manage our oceans’ resources. If you feel the same way speak up because you voice does count significantly. You are the sleeping giant! Our leaders need to hear from you that this issue will have a significant role is shaping your opinion - and by my math, taking a 40% at failing seems hugely risky. The sleeping giant here is public opinion. I can only hope that the current decision makers know the upwelling of global public opinion on this issue. I know, for myself, that if the bluefin falls into a state of collapse, I will hold myself as responsible as anyone else for not doing more of making my voice heard before it's too late.

Here's what you can do via email, Facebook and Twitter that will take a few minutes and get your voice heard;

Email:
Here are three key email addresses that will alert the right people that you care as a American that saving the bluefin tuna is important to you;

public.concerns.groundfish@noaa.gov
Jane.Lubchenco@noaa.gov
scientificauthority@fws.gov

Copy all three addresses into your mail account. Compose a short statement on why you care about the bluefin tuna. Feel free to use parts of the above letter and use www.savethebluefin.com as a reference / link if you wish.

Facebook:
Fan their page and write on their wall here;

Twitter:
Follow NOAA and Obama's key Twitter accounts and reference them at the following addresses;
@USOceanGov
@BarackObama