Posted on 22 February
2010
WWF cautiously welcomes
the EU Commission’s recommendation today
that the 27 European Union member countries
vote for a ban on international commercial
trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna through a
listing on Appendix I of the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at next
month’s meeting in Doha, Qatar.
But WWF is concerned
about the Commission’s proposal that entry
into force of the ban be conditional on
new analysis, a procedure which is neither
scientifically justified nor allowed under
the CITES rules.
“Backing for the ban
of international trade in Atlantic bluefin
tuna is growing by the day and this latest
announcement from the Commission confirms
this”, said Dr Sergi Tudela, WWF’s tuna
expert. “WWF is pleased to see this growing
support but the conditional delay proposed
the EU Commission is simply not allowed
by CITES – and neither is it scientifically
justifiable. The only real choice, if the
fishery is to be saved, is to support full
implementation of the ban as soon as possible
to ensure the species has a chance to recover.”
After today’s recommendation
in Brussels by the newly appointed European
Commissioner for Fisheries, Maria Damanaki,
and Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik,
the last remaining step to galvanise a formal
EU bloc voting position in Doha will be
at a European Council meeting between representatives
of all 27 EU member state governments. This
could happen as late as 15 March – after
the opening of the CITES event – but is
expected to closely reflect today’s recommendation
from the Commission.
WWF calls on European
representatives to drop the conditional
implementation proposal and urgently engage
the support of the global community for
the listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna on
CITES Appendix I, which requires the backing
of two thirds of the 175 CITES member countries
present to be adopted.
“If the biggest Atlantic
bluefin tuna fishing nation in the world,
France, and the EU – whose fishing industry
has the highest stakes in this fishery,
holding more than 50 per cent of total catch
quota – can decide to support a CITES Appendix
I listing for the sake of preserving the
fishery and the tuna, Europe should be able
to convince the rest of the international
community to follow. WWF calls on EU leadership
to this end,” said Dr Tudela of WWF.
“WWF is highly concerned
that the overwhelming acknowledgement of,
and growing support for, the necessary ban
could be undermined by any conditions which
might delay or even derail the process.
The best available data of barely four months
ago already demonstrates as clear as day
that stock levels are under 15 per cent
of historical levels. The international
trade ban must be voted in at CITES in Doha
and implementation must begin immediately
if we are to save tuna stocks. The time
for action is now, and that action must
be clear and unambiguous if the fish and
the industry are to be saved,” said Tudela.
Others to have made
public their support for Monaco’s proposal
to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix
I of CITES include the European Parliament
and the secretariat of CITES itself.
At the end of 2009 both
the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
expert panel and the scientific committee
of the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
the body in charge of managing the Atlantic
bluefin tuna fishery, released analyses
showing that the species amply fits requirements
for an Appendix I listing.
“A CITES Appendix I
listing for Atlantic bluefin will exclusively
control international trade – so there will
be no stepping on ICCAT’s toes. The international
trade ban will rather help the fisheries
management body to do its job by tackling
the main obstacle to sustainable and science-based
fisheries management – international trade
on luxury seafood markets – while allowing
artisanal and coastal fishermen to fish
as usual and trade their tuna domestically.
CITES Appendix I for Atlantic bluefin tuna
is a win-win situation. With CITES and ICCAT
working together there will be hope for
Atlantic bluefin tuna and for its centuries-old
fishing tradition,” said Tudela.
