3 Things You Need to Know About the Bluefin Tuna Ban

Big news, sushi fans: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will decide later this month whether to ban the international bluefin tuna trade, and the United States just announced its plans to vote yes.

Keep reading to learn the 3 Things You Need to Know About the Bluefin Tuna Ban.

Quotas aren't working.

Although bluefin fisheries have set limits on how much bluefin can be caught per season, industry pressures have kept those quotas at levels well above what scientists say are needed to help the population bounce back from a 40-year decline. This ban would nix international commerce, though countries with local bluefin populations could still fish domestically. Environmentalists describe it as an important first step. "The bluefin really need a five year break from all fishing, which isn't on the table yet," says Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and an adjunct professor of ecology at SUNY-Stonybrook on Long Island.

Bluefin is Big Money.

A single (500+ lb) fish sold for over $175,000 at a Tokyo fish auction in January. "There's a gold rush mentality about bluefin, which has led to tremendous overfishing," explains Safina.

But only high-end sushi joints are worried.

Bluefin is kind of the new ivory tusk; a socially irresponsible luxury item coveted by the super-rich. Although it can show up (often mislabeled) on the menus at your average neighborhood sushi restaurant, most of these mid-market places can easily fill the hole with yellowfin or another more affordable fish if bluefin is banned. And a lot of bluefin's mystique is hype: "Most of us couldn't tell the difference between bluefin and yellowfin, or even another type of fish altogether, especially once its combined with rice," says Safina. His Blue Ocean Institute has partnered with culinary nonprofit Chefs Collaborative to create Green Chefs, Blue Oceans, an online program that teaches chefs how to choose more sustainable seafood for their restaurants.

Want to know what you can sub in for bluefin and other non-sustainable sushi choices? Download the Blue Ocean Institute's sushi guide here.