EU backs ban on bluefin tuna fishing

The sale of bluefin tuna should be banned, according to the European Commission, in a boost for the campaign to save the endangered fish.

Published: 6:28PM BST 08 Sep 2009
At the moment bluefin tuna has no protection and is sold in sushi restaurants around the world.
However the European Commission has officially backed calls for the fish to protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

This would effectively suspend the international trade in North Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna until the species is no longer threatened with extinction.
EU member states now need to agree a position for a meeting of CITES in March but the EC position means they are likely to support a ban.
Willie Mackenzie of Greenpeace said it was a boost for the endangered fish.
“Bluefin tuna populations have fallen to critically low levels. And it has become endangered because of disgraceful fisheries management in the EU," he said.
“But today’s move doesn’t mean that this fish is saved yet. Member states still need to agree to support this ban, and follow the lead of countries like the UK.
“Anyone who is opposed to the proposed trade ban is clearly putting short-term commercial interests above the survival of the species, and the future of the fishing industry.”