Bad news for bluefin tuna

Bluefin tuna faces uncertain future.

Charles Clover described it as an ambush by fishing nations, led by Libya. Monaco's wish to obtain a ban on international trade in bluefin tuna was overruled at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES). The proposal was rejected by 68 votes to 20, with 30 abstentions. Members of CITES were not moved by arguments that numbers had declined to less than 15% of its original stock, nor acceptance by UN scientists that it met the criteria for inclusion on the list with other internationally banned species. Instead, state representatives preferred to place their trust in the ability of the Atlantic tuna commission ICCAT to manage the problem.

Arguments against the international trade ban included:

• potential social problems (Tunisia)
• unemployment for 2000 families (Morocco)
• the ICCAT system is now working (Japan)

Bluefin tuna in the caught in the Japanese net [1]

Latest report from Charles Clover in Doha : "It was an Ambush" [2]

The Prinicpality stands up to defend bluefin tuna [3]

CITES conference on endangered species [4]