Sen. Olympia Snowe and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree say they are outraged by the Obama Administration's move to restrict export of Atlantic bluefin tuna, which is commercially fished in Maine. Environmental groups and regulators around the world are concerned that the bluefin, a popular ingredient in sushi, is being overfished and is on the verge of collapse. But some question whether this latest move will truly help the species.

The U.S. government has announced it supports a proposal by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species -- known as CITES -- to prohibit international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna. U.S. fishermen, including those in Maine, would still be able to fish for tuna and sell it in this country. But they would be unable to tap into the world's largest market: Japan.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe blasted the announcement, calling it "a reckless decision that will ultimately prove ineffectual and cause disproportionate harm to the U.S. bluefin tuna fishery." Congresswoman Chellie Pingree agrees.

"The tuna fishery already has a quota and the Maine fishermen have been complying with it -- we're not a large fishery in Maine but the four months where people fish make a huge impact on a lot of economic livelihoods to many Maine families," Pingree says. "And I think that we're going to be disadvantaged under this resolution. I think what will happen is Japan will continue to buy from other countries and our fishermen will be cut out of the market."

Dr. Susan Lieberman, deputy director of the Washington-based Pew Environmental Group, says Japan could choose not to abide by the terms of the CITES treaty. But Lieberman says Japan would likely be hard-pressed to find other countries willing to participate and provide them the fish.

Delegates from 175 member countries, including the United States, will debate the bluefin proposal at an upcoming conference this month in Qatar. But Lieberman says the scientific data makes the case for protecting the tuna clear.

"We have to go with the science," Leiberman says. "The UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, all agree that scientifically the species qualify and needs this trade -- I don't want to call it a ban, it's a suspension -- to recover. So it's really important to go with the science."

According to Pew, Atlantic bluefin tuna populations have declined by more than 80 percent in the last 40 years as the appetite for high-end sushi has increased. And while migratory fish aren't normally CITES' focus, the organization has protected more than 30,000 species around the globe since its creation in 1975.

Species can be added or removed from its protected list with a vote of two-thirds of the member countries. All this is little consolation to bluefin tuna fishermen in Maine, where 170 commercial permits were issued last year, along with another 430 recreational licenses.

"I'd be really interested in knowing whose science is saying that the tuna are threatened," says Robert Odlin, a fishiing guide from southern Maine who takes people fishing for bluefin as well as other species.

"We caught a few more last year than we did the year before. The fishery has produced a lot of decent-sized fish down off of Chatham, Mass; they catch them in the Carolinas. I think if anything, it's improving," Odlin says.

Terry Stockwell of the Maine Department of Marine Resources says Maine's commercial tuna fishery dates back centuries and has been worth tens of millions of dollars to Maine's economy over the years. He says the DMR also opposes a CITES listing.

"A CITES listing is punitive, and it would cause irreparable economic harm to the businesses and the communities and the markets, and may also likely add additional fishing pressure on other Northeast stocks already experiencing exceptionally restrictive management regimes."

But Dr. Susan Lieberman of Pew says there can be no real protection of the magnificent tuna without real restrictions. How Japan responds to the proposal will be clearer in the next couple of weeks.