Bluefin tuna at auction. (Photo: Akihiro)

Monaco tables bluefin tuna proposal

EUROPEAN UNION
Thursday, October 15, 2009, 21:40 (GMT + 9)

A proposal to add Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna to the most endangered species list of the United Nations' (UN) wildlife trade body was tabled by Monaco on Wednesday.

If approved, the proposal to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) could result in a ban in the international trade of the fish.

The proposal is set to be considered during the meeting of the convention's 175 member states in Qatar next year, AFP reports.

It is expected a number of European Union (EU) countries will come out against the measure. Last month, members of the European body voted down plans for the ban.

"All the countries around the Mediterranean came out against" any ban on trade in bluefin tuna, an EU source commented in September.

The EU has, however, proposed adding the porbeagle shark, or Lamna nasus, to Appendix II - a list of species in danger of extinction if trade in them is not strictly controlled.

"Unsustainable target fisheries for Lamna nasus in parts of its range have been driven by international trade demand for its high-value meat," the EU said of northern and southwestern Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks in its submission.

"The meat and fins are of high quality and high value in international trade," it added.

A separate proposal on other shark species is expected to be submitted to CITES before the midnight Wednesday deadline for submissions to be sent for discussion during next year's meeting, said organisational spokesman Juan Carlos Vasquez.

Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, lamented the lack of US leadership to co-sponsor the CITES bluefin tuna proposal.

"This is a lost opportunity. The Obama administration veered drastically off its 'use science to guide decision making' course by not backing this proposal to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna. As a result, the common sense conservation measures that would help stave off commercial extinction for this species are even further from becoming a reality."

According to Pew, up to 30 per cent of bluefin caught are taken illegally and not even reported. In the meantime, the Atlantic bluefin population that spawns in US waters has declined by 82 per cent since the 1970s.

Related articles:

- No consensus for global tuna trade veto
- Europe against bluefin tuna fishing ban: EU source
- EU firms up bluefin tuna fishing ban support

By Denise Recalde
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com