Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 9 • Number 17 • 5th October 2009

Lack of Consensus Leaves Bluefin Tuna on the Market

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After several weeks of debate, EU member states were unsuccessful at supporting proposals aimed at temporarily banning international trade of bluefin tuna that environmentalists say is essential to preserving the species and allowing the depleted stocks to recover. Due to the high investment of certain Mediterranean countries in the bluefin tuna industry, however, the majority vote needed to adopt this measure fell just out of reach.

At the forefront of the original proposal was Monaco, the first country in the world to stop the sale of bluefin tuna, who was fervent on getting bluefin tuna listed as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The end effect would have been a temporary ban, for a period of two years, on all international trade of this species. However, several fisheries-dependent EU member states, including Spain, Malta, Italy, France, Greece, and Cyprus, were keen on ensuring that such legislation did not pass.

After undergoing two temporary bans on bluefin tuna trade in 2007 and 2008, Mediterranean countries seem apt to protect their fishing industries in which the sale of bluefin tuna - primarily to Japan where it is used to prepare high-quality sushi - is a significant source of income. They argued that a conservation ban would put too many jobs at risk, especially during a time of worldwide recession. Some conservationists claim that the countries opposed to this ban are more concerned about money than the preservation of a species.

Xavier Pastor, executive director of the environmental group Oceana Europe, held that it is “deplorable that the EU member states who are mostly responsible for the depletion of bluefin tuna stocks refused to agree a measure that would have helped reverse the situation.” Other well-known environmental organisations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), have also expressed their frustration with the outcome of the EU’s decision.

“It is once again large-scale Mediterranean fishing interests trying to gang up against the long-term survival of Atlantic bluefin tuna and the industry this incredible species has sustained for thousands of years,” said Aaron McLoughlin, Head of WWF’s European Marine Programme. “How can anyone enjoy contributing to extinction by buying, selling, cooking or eating a fish whose days are clearly numbered?”

Despite overwhelming support from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and numerous other northern countries, the qualified majority vote needed to initiate the two-year ban on bluefin tuna was not reached. Stavros Dimas, EU Environment Commissioner, expressed his disappointment with this decision, and Joe Borg, EU Commissioner on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, stated that it is now up to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) - the international organisation in charge of regulating the bluefin tuna industry - to “ensure the recovery of bluefin tuna.”

However, several observers say there is still time for the situation to make a turnaround. The EU CITES Management Committee - comprised of ministry representatives of member states - has until the March 2010 CITES meeting to reach a verdict on the uniform position of the EU concerning whether bluefin tuna should be considered an endangered species and if a temporary ban should be imposed. Thus, more time will be allowed for further research on the status of bluefin tuna, and EU member states will have the opportunity to review their positions before making a final decision.

ICTSD reporting; “EU countries reject ban on bluefin tuna,” EURACTIVE, 22 September 2009; “Commission warms to bluefin tuna ban,” EURACIVE, 10 September 2009; “Mediterranean nations reject EU ban on bluefin tuna fishing,” THE TIMES, 22 September 2009; “Environmentalists disappointed by bluefin tune vote,” TIMES OF MALTA, 22 September 2009.