Oceans 4Ever

Today, we’re down to day 19 of Pick/Protect 21, and on our minds today is the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus), a huge fish  that’s in HUGE trouble. It needs your help, desperately, right now. First, watch them in action:

Why you should pick it:

The Bluefin tuna is gigantic – in adulthood, it averages 550 pounds and about 6.5 feet long (Bluefins as large as almost 1,500 pounds have been recorded).

They’re a beautiful, shimmering metallic-blue on top and pure silver on the bottom. They’re warm-blooded – a rare trait in fish, and are equally happy in the icy waters off Newfoundland as they are in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Bluefins are built for speed, able to swim up to 43 miles per-hour, and can retract both their dorsal and pectoral fins to help them reach top speed.  Their reputation for endurance, power and pure fight on the end of a a fishing line are legendary, making them THE fish to catch for sport fisherman seeking the ultimate trophy and harrowing tale of capture.  

Why it needs protecting:

Its also got a reputation for the most delicious meat of its kind, and are widely used in the Japanese dishes sushi and sashimi. The result: extensive and even illegal overfishing that has brought about a dramatic decline in Bluefin since the 1970s, and now the population is dangerously close to extinction, down by 75% .

In March, the Bluefin took another hit when the United Nations voted down a U.S.-backed proposal to ban the export of Atlantic Bluefin tuna to other countries, after Japan campaigned hard with the message that its economy – and economies of many other nations – would be devastated by the ban (Japan imports 80% of its Bluefin supply). 

And to top it off, the 2010 Atlantic Bluefin fishing season starts this weekend.

How you can protect it:

The biggest way to help save the Atlantic Bluefin is to practice responsible seafood consumption (and not eat the Bluefin, specifically, at all). Biggest way 1-B is to learn about the Bluefin yourself and tell everyone you know about the danger it’s in and that eating it is going to wipe it out, forever. (Are we beginning to sound like a broken record? Knowledge is power!)

Check out this site for a downloadable guide to eating seafood responsibly, as well as a “dear restaurant/chef” card for when you dine out. Print a few extra and keep them in with you when you go out to eat – if you see Bluefin on the menu, or even sushi or sashimi, hand the restaurant manager, or even your server, a card, so at least they know what they are doing.

We’ll leave you with a little more news (and it’s NOT good) via this video, in which the World Wildlife Federation discusses the state of the Bluefin:

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