The American government announced this week that it will support prohibiting international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna. In mid-March, representatives from 175 countries will gather in Doha, Qatar, to determine whether to restrict the trade of bluefin tuna,and an array of other imperiled species under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

“The regulatory mechanisms that have been relied upon have failed to do the job,” said Strickland, who will lead the U.S. delegation to the CITES world conference March 13 to 25. “We are literally at a moment where if we don’t get this right, we could see this very, very special species really at risk for survival.” said Tom Strickland, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks, in a recent interview.

In the last 50 years, the adult population of eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna has declined 74%, much of it in the past decade. In the western Atlantic, the population has dropped 82% in 40 years.