Japan will not comply with tuna trade ban: senior fisheries official+

TOKYO, March 4 Kyodo -
Japan will not comply if a total ban is imposed on international trade in
bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, a senior Japanese
fisheries official said Thursday as moves toward such a ban gain momentum, with
the United States announcing its support the previous day.
''If worse comes to worst, Japan will have no choice but to lodge its
reservations,'' Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Masahiko Yamada told a press conference.
Signatory nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly known as the Washington Convention,
are scheduled to meet on March 13 in Qatar to vote on a proposed ban.
Monaco put forward the proposal last year on the grounds that the tuna
population is rapidly declining.
Japan finds itself in a growing predicament over the issue now that the United
States has supported the idea. Earlier France and Italy, which initially were
against the ban, came out in support of Monaco's plan.
Japan consumes an estimated three quarters of the world's annual bluefin tuna
catch as the fish is widely used in sushi and sashimi dishes.
''There are countries that agree with Japan's position so we will try to avoid
the proposed ban up to the last minute,'' Yamada said.
Monaco's proposal will be adopted if two-thirds of voting signatory nations
support it.
==Kyodo