Europe versus Japan on Bluefin Tuna trade

[Guest guest]

European calls mount for bluefin trade ban

 

By WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH

 

Kyodo News

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090811a8.html

 

Tuesday, August 11

 

LONDON (Kyodo) France, Britain and Germany have set themselves on a

collision course with Japan after they backed moves to ban international

trade in northern bluefin tuna at a forthcoming environmental

conference.

 

Heading toward extinction?: Bluefin tuna swim in the Atlantic in this

photo provided by the World Wide Fund for Nature. KYODO PHOTO

 

The three European nations have also joined the Netherlands in

supporting a proposal by Monaco to get the species put on a special list

that prohibits its export.

 

The EU states have decided to take a stand following growing concern

about the decline in stocks of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and

Atlantic due to overfishing.

 

Much of the demand for northern bluefin tuna comes from Japan, where it

is highly valued as sushi and sashimi. Around 90 percent of bluefin is

exported to Japan, and Japanese firms also own a sizable part of the

bluefin tuna farm industry in the Mediterranean.

 

Any attempt to block the export of bluefin is likely to be opposed by

Tokyo when signatories to the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meet in Doha, Qatar,

in March.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was first to back the Monaco plan last

month, when he declared: " Ours is the last generation with the ability

to take action before it's too late. We must protect marine resources

now, in order to fish better in future. We owe this to fishermen, and we

owe it to future generations. "

 

Monaco's Prince Albert has been seeking support among nations through

whose waters the species swims. He has been particularly vocal on the

matter, and all the principality's restaurants have decided to drop

bluefin from their menus.

 

He hopes to gather sufficient support to submit his proposal by the

deadline of Oct. 17 that northern bluefin tuna be put in appendix one of

the convention.

 

This means the northern bluefin would be treated as " threatened with

extinction " and trade would only be allowed in " exceptional

circumstances. "

 

Environmentalists have long claimed the species is on the brink of

extinction due to overfishing and illegal catches. This is despite

quotas being set up by regional bodies as well as enforcement measures.

 

But these have been branded " ineffective " by many critics.

 

Experts believe a pause in the international trade would allow bluefin

stocks to recover because much of the demand from Japan would

disappear.

 

But any ban is likely to be fiercely opposed by the French and Italian

fishermen who have made a good living from the trade.

 

Following France's lead, British Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies

issued the following statement: " The U.K. supports calls from Monaco and

France to list bluefin tuna on CITES. This follows growing public

concern about the perilous state of bluefin stocks.

 

" We encourage other member states to support this proposal and we will

be working through the EU to build support for CITES listing. Action at

an EU level to encourage more responsible fishing is essential to

improve the state of bluefin tuna stocks. "

 

To succeed, the proposal would need the support of two-thirds of the

signatory countries at the Doha meeting.

 

The convention does not have any legal force and adherence to its

rulings is voluntary. But environmentalists hope Japan will fall into

line with the majority view if the ban is approved.

 

Asked about Japan's probable reaction to the Monaco plans,

Irranca-Davies told the Independent newspaper: " I don't think we need to

get into a fight over this. There will be people for whom this bluefin

tuna is important either as a consumer nation or as a fishing nation,

but what we cannot get away from is the stark evidence that is staring

us in the face. "

 

German Minister for the Environment Sigmar Gabriel said recently: " Only

a trade ban will save this particularly at-risk species from extinction.

Bluefin tuna therefore needs to be listed on the CITES convention —

indeed, this is a long overdue step. "

 

This is not the first time European states have tried to take action on

the northern bluefin through CITES. In the early 1990s, Sweden

unsuccessfully tried to get the fish listed in appendix two — where

international trade would be monitored and regulated rather than banned

— but this failed due to a lack of support.

 

At that time, signatories decided to put their faith in regional bodies

to regulate the stocks of bluefin.

 

Gemma Parkes, communications officer for the World Wildlife Fund for

Nature, said she thinks it is " likely " the ban will come into force,

adding the proposal is " building a consensus. "

 

" Even if Japan doesn't support the ban and it was approved, it won't be

able to buy tuna, " she said.

 

Environmental journalist Charles Clover, who has recently produced a

film on the plight of the northern bluefin, is less optimistic about

prospects for the Monaco proposal.

 

In a recent article for the Sunday Times, he wrote: " It is far too

early to predict the outcome. A ban . . . is likely to be opposed by

Japan as well as by the other big culprits in overfishing. All sorts of

dirty tricks may be expected. "

 

Clover's film has received much praise and prompted celebrities to

campaign against the famous Nobu restaurants in Britain that still serve

bluefin tuna, despite informing customers that it is endangered and

giving them the option to choose a more sustainable species.

 

 

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