Posted on
10 March 2010
Brussels, Belgium – WWF applauds the confirmation
from European Union member states that they
will vote for a ban on international commercial
trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna during a
meeting of the largest wildlife trade convention
starting this week.
The 27 EU members said
today they would vote to list Atlantic bluefin
tuna on Appendix I of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES), joining a growing list of supporting
countries, including the United States of
America.
“WWF welcomes the EU
announcement, which will give this devastated
species the possibility to recover,” said
Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF
Mediterranean. “Other governments must back
the ban when they meet for CITES later this
week.”
“The EU is a major trade
and development partner in many key regions
of the world, and some countries may have
been hanging back on Atlantic bluefin tuna
to see what the Europeans would decide to
do,” Tudela said.
“With the two largest
holders of bluefin tuna fishing quota on
either side of the Atlantic – the U.S. and
EU – now supporting the trade ban, other
countries should follow suit,” Dr Tudela
said.
“Our only remaining
concern is that we do not understand the
continuing need on the part of the EU for
conditions to be attached to the Appendix
I listing. WWF believes this trade ban should
be implemented immediately, without conditions
or delay.
“The EU must now push
for widespread support of this proposal
during the CITES meeting.”
The proposal to list
Atlantic bluefin tuna on CITES Appendix
I was submitted by the Principality of Monaco
in October. Atlantic bluefin tuna is at
serious risk of commercial extinction because
of decades of unsustainable and illegal
fishing in the Mediterranean Sea, driven
by demand from Japan’s luxury seafood markets.
The eligibility of Atlantic
bluefin tuna for the CITES Appendix I listing
proposal is backed by independent experts
including a United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization panel, and the scientific committee
of the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
the regional fisheries management organization
in charge of this fishery.
The 15th Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on the
International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 15) will
take place March 13-25 in Doha, Qatar. The
Convention is an international agreement
between governments that aims to ensure
that international trade in specimens of
wild animals and plants does not threaten
their survival in the wild.
