Brussels, 19/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 February, the European Commission will unveil a compromise on the fishing and trade in bluefin tuna, a species threatened with extinction. The Commission will recommend that, at the 15th meeting of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) in Doha (Qatar) on 13-25 March, the EU will call for a ban on international trade in bluefin tuna.
The Commission is likely, however, to include conditions with its ban proposal: - exemptions to allow the continuation of small-scale fishing (Ed: the trade ban de facto ends industrial fishing on the high seas, but allows a smaller fishery, for the domestic European market, to be maintained); - and especially, to wait until November 2010 before formally listing bluefin tuna on CITES Appendix 1, which contains the species threatened with extinction, international trade in which has been banned. Furthermore, aid for retraining of fishermen and decommissioning schemes (with Community and national funding) is possible under the European Fisheries Fund for 2007-2013. The Commission, however, is not planning additional funding to compensate fishermen and vessel owners affected by the closure of the fishery.
The next meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is due to take place in November 2010. In November 2009, the ICCAT Parties agreed measures to restrict bluefin tuna fishing (including a 40% reduction in fishing possibilities), while leaving the door ajar for suspension, if necessary, of the fishery to allow stocks to recover. The Commission hopes that, in November, ICCAT will decide to stop the international trade in bluefin tuna, otherwise it hopes that CITES will act quickly to bring about the ban.
Greenpeace says Commission position is acceptable. The delay proposed by the Commission has been seen as quite reasonable by environmental organisations, including Greenpeace. “This delay does not add a fishing season”, which is in May-June, said Isabelle Philippe of Greenpeace. France has proposed listing bluefin tuna in Appendix I, but only in 128 months' time, which would give fishermen the 2010 and 2011 fishing seasons. Environmentalists say that France's position is unacceptable. Furthermore, Greenpeace hopes that, if the EU recommendation is accepted (Ed: first by the EU Council of ministers, then by the Parties to CITES - something that is far from certain) it will provide “the lever to encourage ICCAT to decide on a quota as close to zero as possible in November,” Philippe said.
Like France, Italy has shown itself to be in favour of a halt to fishing, while Spain (Ed: though remaining tight-lipped, since it chairs the EU Council of Ministers), Greece, Cyprus and Malta continue to oppose any ban.
The Commission will make a public statement on Monday on the recommendation it makes on bluefin tuna, but intends to say nothing about other species. Polar bears, some coral, some sharks and some elephants are among the list of species for which the EU wants better protection. (L.C./transl.rt)