Monaco proposes temporary fishing ban on bluefin tuna

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TOKYO, Jan. 26 Kyodo -
Monaco has proposed a temporary fishing ban on bluefin tuna in the eastern
Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea as it hopes to help stem a rapid
decline in the population due to overfishing, sources familiar with the matter
said Tuesday.
The proposal needs to get approval from more than two-thirds of signatory
nations of the so-called Washington Convention or the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora when they
meet in Qatar in March.
Monaco has been making its case for reining in the dwindling number of bluefin
tuna, and made an official proposal to ban international trade in eastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna to the Washington Convention last
October.
Although the proposed resolution does not have binding power when adopted, the
Japanese government would be forced to consider whether to accept such a
temporary fishing ban, and it could potentially mean a sharp drop in the supply
of the fish.
Japan consumes roughly three quarters of the global catch of bluefin tuna, one
of the most prized fish used for sushi.
Monaco argued in its research results submitted to the Washington Convention
that the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has
not been successful in limiting bluefin tuna catches, saying that some 30,000
tons are estimated have been fished in a year illegally, the sources said.
The proposal calls for banning fishing bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and
Mediterranean Sea until each fishing nation crafts measures towards the
recovery of bluefin tuna stocks, and establishes a system to monitor poaching.
In November, the ICCAT decided to cut the annual catch limit for bluefin tuna
by around 40 percent this year to 13,500 tons, from 22,000 tons in 2009. But
Monaco said even if the world does cut the amount, prospects are still grim
that the number of the species will recover by 2023.
==Kyodo