The World Wildlife Fund is again calling on France and other European countries to back an international trade ban on bluefin tuna to protect the species from overfishing.
Earlier this week, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the country will decide on Wednesday whether to support listing Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which would effectively suspend international trade of the species.
French fishermen are urging the government to resist pressure from the environmental community. France is among Europe’s largest bluefin tuna harvesters.
France has been back and forth on Monaco’s Appendix I proposal since last year. In July, French President Nicolas Sarkozy supported it, but since then the country has voiced a more ambiguous, intermediary position, suggesting instead to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix II, which is less restrictive than Appendix I.
“The only measure that can truly have the necessary impact now is to suspend international trade — simple as that,” said Dr. Sergi Tudela, head of fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “There has been enough talk, enough analysis, enough debate. The facts are clear, the science is clear, the imperative is clear. It is time for President Sarkozy and others to step up to this historical challenge and take the courageous political decision to safeguard an industry and a species that are as strong a part of Mediterranean culture and life as olive oil and sunny afternoons.”
The European Commission, including Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, support the Appendix I proposal.
An advisory panel of independent fisheries experts, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization, in December failed to reach a consensus on the Appendix I proposal. The panel did, however, agree that there’s enough evidence to support an Appendix II listing.
CITES, which comprises 175 member countries, will decide on the Appendix I proposal at its meeting in Doha, Qatar, from 13 to 25 March.
