Bye Bye Bluefin?

Although I am a homemade mother, I love love love going out to eat. Although we’re living on a tight budget right now, my husband and I like to try a new restaurant every week. We always look for locally owned, small restaurants that not only offer good value but new and different foods, too. One of the best things about living in a big city is the wide variety of restaurants available to us. In the past month alone we’ve checked out authentic Israeli, Chinese, Indian and Polish restaurants. Our seventeen month old daughter never complains about the different foods we set in front of her.

One of our favorite cuisines is Japanese. I never feel overly full after sushi – its always the perfect amount of food. However, a startling article in this week’s issue of The Week” (an excellent magazine I highly recommend) reports that the world’s appetite for sushi is threatening to completely wipe out bluefin tuna. If current fishing trends continue, bluefins may disappear from the Atlantic by 2012 (yes, that is TWO years from NOW). As sushi and sashimi have risen in global popularity over the past 50 years, the bluefin population in the Atlantic and Mediterranean has fallen 74 percent. And, fish that are caught are considerably smaller than they used to be – down from 275 pounds to an average of 143 pounds.

Quotas on bluefins have been in place since 1969, but they are largely ineffective. Bluefins swim far beyond international boundaries and the reach of the law. Brazen fisherman ignore quotas and will continue to do so until the demand for this endangered species decreases considerably. As of right now, the only viable action is an outright international ban, which would encounter fierce resistance from Japan and many Mediterranean countries.

Here is a letter I am sending to my local Japanese restaurants. I hope that you will do the same – feel free to copy & paste the below letter and sign it as your own.

Dear Sushi Restaurant Owner,

In light of recent reports that bluefin tuna are a highly endangered species, I am writing you in hopes that you will totally remove it from your menu.

If current fishing trends continue, bluefins may disappear from the Atlantic by 2012. Since sushi and sashimi have risen in global popularity over the past 50 years, the bluefin population in the Atlantic and Mediterranean has fallen 74 percent. As of right now, the only viable action is an outright international ban, which would encounter fierce resistance from Japan and many Mediterranean countries. Therefore, I ask that you help curb American demand for this fish by removing it from your menu.

Should you have diners who ask for bluefin tuna, please explain the urgency of the situation and your concern for this species. I will not return to your restaurant until you confirm that bluefin tuna is no longer an option on your menu.

Many thanks,

Maureen

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