The Perilous Fate of the Bluefin Tuna

Paul Greenberg’s article on June 27, 2010, New York Times Magazine discusses the perilous fate of the Bluefin Tuna (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/magazine/27Tuna-t.html (Links to an external site.)).

The conclusion of the article states: “Perhaps people will never come to feel about a tuna the way they have come to feel about whales. Whales are, after all, mammals: they have large brains; they nurse their young, and breed slowly. All of that ensconces them in a kind of empathic cocoon, the warmth of which even the warmest-blooded tuna may never occupy.

But what we can perhaps be persuaded to feel, viscerally, is that industrial fishing as it is practiced today against the bluefin and indeed against all the world’s great fish, the very tigers and lions of our era, is an act unbefitting our sentience. An act as pointless, small-minded, and shortsighted as launching a harpoon into the flank of a whale.” Read the article and then comment on the plausibility of an international environmental regime to save the species.

 Is it possible?  Is it necessary?  Do you agree that the development of such a regime would be more difficult in comparison to whales?   Please submit an original post (no less than 150 words) by Friday @ 11:59 pm and at least one response post (approximately 75 words) by Sunday @ 11:59 pm. Total points possible: 20 (15 points for the original post, and 5 points for response post). NOTE: If you are using any external source (media or articles), please provide the link so that others can access the reference. Please read all questions carefully and answer all of them completely.

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