Bluefin Ban

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) announced its support of a trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna. The Swiss-based body, which regulates international trade in wildlife, will host the CITES triennial meeting in March, where 175 countries will vote on the proposal. Bluefin tuna is highly popular in Japan—one country likely to oppose the ban. Japan imports almost half the world’s total catch, which is considered a top-market luxury tuna—2.2 pounds of fish sell for $200 to $300. The World Wildlife Fund says that spawning bluefin tuna will disappear entirely by 2012 unless catches are halted.