UN Backed Agency Proposed WorldWide Bluefin Tuna Ban

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The United Nations (UN)-backed wildlife trade agency said Friday it supported a proposed ban on the international trade in bluefin tuna, a delicacy in Asia, which is due to be examined by 175 countries next month.

"We are recommending that the parties approve the proposals made by Monaco," said David Morgan, head of the scientific support unit at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Japan has opposed the ban proposed by Monaco, which would classify the fish as a species threatened with extinction, CITES officials said.

France last week lent its support to the proposals under certain conditions despite strong opposition among its Mediterranean fishing fleets, paving the way for European Union (EU) backing, officials said.

EU, US and Palau proposals to limit international trade in some types of sharks are also due to be examined when CITES holds its three-yearly meeting in Qatar on March 13 to 25.

EU states are seeking restrictions on the trade in red or pink corals, among some 40 proposals on the conservation of animal, reptiles, insects or plants that are due to be decided on by CITES member states in Qatar.

"The marine theme of this year's CITES conference is particularly striking," said the agency's Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers.

Morgan told journalists that bluefin tuna met the criteria for inclusion in the top grade appendix one -- which bans cross border trade of a species outright and classifies it as endangered -- notably because of a general 80 per cent decline in its stocks.

Currently bluefin tuna, found in parts of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, is subject to fishing quotas of about 20,000 tonnes a year, but its stocks are highly prized.

A single fish, weighing about 650 kilogrammes, can currently fetch up to USD 120,000, according to CITES.

Morgan said CITES secretariat had carefully weighed up scientific evidence in making its recommendation on bluefin.

"Our opinion is that the criteria for including these species in appendix one are met and international trade should be prohibited," he explained.

Unusually, Monaco's proposals would also set up a special CITES committee that could recommend a quick change if stocks recover.

But Morgan said there had been little sign of a "rebound" in the species in West Atlantic, despite a broad halt to fishing there from the mid- 1980s.

"It's not going to be instantaneous, the decline has occurred for the past 40 years or so," he added.

source: AFP