THE UNITED States had it partly right ("Tuna greed," Op-ed, Nov. 26), calling for a temporary moratorium on fishing for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. This temporary closure of the fishery is necessary to allow this overfished species to recover, but it ignores the problems in our own backyard.
Sure, we have drastically cut the quota for bluefin in order to rebuild, but as long as bluefin are caught while breeding in the Gulf of Mexico, the population will continue to precipitously decline. US fishermen have only caught 10 percent of their quota this year because the fish simply aren't there.
The United States, along with the European Union, needs to demonstrate even greater courage, and call for a temporary closure of all Atlantic bluefin fishing until a rebuilding plan is in place on both sides of the Atlantic.
MARK STEVENS
Senior program officer
World Wildlife Fund
Washington
rising
falling 