Critics of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas often say that the acronym ICCAT might better stand for the “International Conspiracy to Catch All Tuna.” At its most recent meeting, ICCAT lived up to that derisive nickname by setting 2011 catch levels for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) at basically the same levels as 2010 — 12,900 tons, down from 13,500 – despite the pleas of conservation scientists and the bluefin's place on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" of endangered or critically endangered species (Western stock and Eastern stock).
Soon after the ICCAT decision – or “death sentence”, as a post at Change.org put it – the Center for Biological Diversity announced a "bluefin boycott."
While that sounds (and is) good, the Center’s campaign is about far more than simply giving up buying and eating bluefin tuna. After all, Japan consumes about 80% of the world's bluefin catch, so the impact of a U.S. boycott will be limited. That's one reason the Center's "boycott" also calls for action by governments and international organizations. (Read more about the limits of consumer-based campaigns in my earlier Ethicurean piece.)
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