Japanese reaction mixed over voted-down tuna ban+

TOKYO, March 19 Kyodo -
Japanese fishermen and consumers shared a sense of relief Friday after a
proposed ban on international trade in bluefin tuna from the Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea was voted down at an international convention the previous
day, but many also voiced concern over over-fishing.
Welcoming the rejection of Monaco's proposed ban at a panel meeting of the
so-called Washington Convention held in Doha, Qatar, Yuichiro Harada, an
executive of the Organization for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries,
said ''the international community made a healthy decision'' and was not swayed
by emotion.
Katsushige Takeuchi, a bidder at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, said that while
he was relieved by the decision by the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora since a ban would drive prices up,
some action was needed.
''It will be too late once they are gone,'' he said, adding that he ''would
agree with regulations if they protect the (tuna) resource.''
He said the amount of tuna traded at the market is falling, with his own
company's tunas dropping to 80 fish a day instead of some 150 four or five
years ago.
''I love the juiciness of tuna, which resembles that of a meat. I want
foreigners to know the tastiness,'' said Takahiro Ninomiya, 26, a company
employee in Tokyo who came to a sushi restaurant at Tsukiji market, after
hearing the news.
''I am relieved for the time being,'' said Toshio Katsukura, who heads a
fisheries cooperative in Miyagi Prefecture, but he added, ''In order to prevent
this type of issue from being brought to the Washington Convention, Japan, as a
dominant consumer, must establish import regulations to protect tuna
resources.''
Hiroaki Katsukura, who operates two tuna fishing boats in the same prefecture,
said Japan's claims ''won overwhelming support'' at the convention, but added
''similar problems will arise'' if Japan does not take effective measures to
prevent over-fishing and maintain resources.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, meanwhile, welcomed the rejection of a proposed
ban, telling reporters, ''I think it was good.''
He expressed hope that prices for the fish would not rise further. Japan
consumes some 80 percent of bluefin tuna catches from the waters against the
backdrop of strong demand from sushi restaurants and others.
But Hatoyama also expressed caution, suggesting there might be a countermove by
some signatory states of the convention that support the proposed ban,
including the United States and the European Union, at the plenary session
scheduled for March 24-25.
==Kyodo
2010-03-19 23:09:07