U.N Rejects Bluefin Tuna Ban

Although I personally have had my share of bluefin tuna at Japanese restaurants, I am saddened by this recent news on how the U.N has rejected the proposal of banning bluefin tuna. I'm not saying that I support banning bluefin tuna which would result in a very huge cultural complication in Japan since they consume 80% of it. I just believe that is important to protect and preserve these species naturally and not through cloning or mass production through farm raising. This I suppose is relevant to Dan Barber's lecture in my previous post. Sigh* I think I am going to watch the Oscar award winning documentary "The Cove" this weekend...

From the Wall Street Journal

U.N Votes Down Ban on Bluefin Exports
March 18, 2010
By YUKA HAYASHI

TOKYO—Member nations of an international wildlife-protection body on Thursday rejected a proposed ban on trading of Atlantic bluefin tuna, handing a surprise victory to Japan, the biggest importer of the overfished species prized as a sushi ingredient.

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People eat sushi at a sushi restaurant with blocks of tuna placed on the counter outside Tsukiji wholesale market in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, March 18, 2010.

The proposal, supported by the U.S. and a handful of other developed nations, was rejected by a 68-20 vote after Japanese government officials furiously lobbied to enlist help from bluefin exporters and developing nations in opposing the ban.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting of the 175-member United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or Cites, in Doha, Qatar, this week.

Japan, one of the world's largest seafood importers, consumes 70% to 80% of Atlantic bluefin and a quarter of all tuna world-wide. Scientists supporting the ban said the bluefin tuna could soon be wiped out from the world's oceans unless drastic steps are taken to protect it.

The stocks of bluefin in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean are estimated to have dropped to 15% to 30% of the levels four to five decades ago before large-scale international trading started, according to Cites.

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"Today's vote was a setback for the Atlantic bluefin tuna, but we will keep fighting to ensure that the fishery is managed sustainably, so that future generations may see it return to health," said Tom Strickland, head of the U.S. delegation.

Japanese media reported on the vote early Friday, garnering positive comments from fishermen and fish wholesalers, who had worried the ban would sharply curtail shipments of the bluefin, which is known in Japan as "true" tuna.

"This is such a relief," said Masanori Miyahara, chief negotiator for Japan's Fisheries Agency. "Our effort paid off." He added that Japan will redouble its effort to manage the bluefin population through its participation in another international body, made up of fishing nations.

Government officials had earlier predicted the ban would have a good chance of being adopted, given that the Cites has successfully extended its authority to protect more marine species that are widely harvested commercially in recent years, branching out from rare species considered endangered in the classic sense, such as the tiger and the coelacanth.

The European Union, which includes big bluefin-fishing nations like Spain and Italy, had supported the ban in principle but later submitted a compromise proposal calling for a grace period before implementing the ban. That proposal was also rejected.