The World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace International on Wednesday echoed the call to suspend international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna, pointing to evidence that the species’ spawning biomass is less than 15 percent of what it originally was, preceding the fishery’s existence.
As a result of the findings released by scientists at last week’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in Madrid, Spain, Atlantic bluefin tuna meets the criteria for a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix I listing, said the environmental NGOs.
Earlier this month, Monaco officially submitted its proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of CITES, effectively banning international trade of the species.
“What’s needed to save the stocks is a suspension of fishing activity and a suspension of international trade — this is the only possible package that can give this fish a chance to recover,” said Dr. Sergi Tudela, head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
“The extent of the failure by ICCAT members to act responsibly and preserve our marine environment can no longer be ignored,” added Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace oceans campaigner. “Atlantic bluefin tuna has been subject to decades of massive overfishing and overexploitation and time is running out to save this species”
WWF and Greenpeace are urging ICCAT to forgo adopting a quota at its annual meeting in Recife, Brazil, on 6 to 16 November.
CITES’ 175 member countries will vote on Monaco’s proposal at the Conference of the Parties of CITES in Doha, Qatar, in March. Several nations, including the United States and European Commission, have backed Monaco’s proposal.
