Lawsuit filed to protect U.S. bluefin tuna from overfishing

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today against the National Marine Fisheries Service challenging a new rule that expands overfishing of highly imperiled Atlantic bluefin tuna. The lawsuit seeks to halt the dramatic expansion of commercial fishing from Massachusetts to Florida in an effort to prevent bluefin from being fished to extinction.

“Bluefin tuna were once the giants of the sea, but overfishing has depleted the ocean of this remarkable fish. It’s completely backwards to ramp up fishing of bluefin tuna at a time when they’re increasingly rare,” said Catherine Kilduff, a staff attorney at the Center.

Western Atlantic bluefin have declined by more than 80 percent since 1970 due to overfishing. The Fisheries Service’s latest rule nearly doubled the number of bluefin tuna that can be caught each day, as well as lengthened the fishing season. Because of the longer fishing season, bluefin tuna catches will shift from northeastern waters to include the mid- and south Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida…

Source: Center for Biological Diversity