UK urged to follow France in support of international bluefin tuna trade ban

WWF-UK is calling on the UK Government to add its support for an international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna. This follows an announcement by the French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo that France supports the listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The support for a CITES Appendix I listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna by a major European fishing country may free up the deadlock across EU member states and the European Commission, whose fisheries and environment commissioners have been at loggerheads for weeks in a failure to agree on the formal EC position. The pressure is also mounting on Spain, who hold the EU presidency to follow suit.

Italy already voiced its support for the Appendix I listing last week, along with suggesting a three-year suspension of industrial fishing. Now WWF is urging the UK Government to step up to the table and ensure this endangered species is given the immediate protection it needs from overfishing.

France’s call for an international trade ban on endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna is a strong political commitment, but WWF is concerned that the French Government is asking for an 18-month delayed implementation of the ban pending new scientific analysis of tuna stocks.

Heather Sohl, Species Trade & Policy Officer at WWF-UK says: “The scientific case for listing Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I is already clear. The trade ban must take immediate effect and be implemented without condition if it is to be of conservation and economic value.”

“It now falls to EU Presidency holder Spain, other EU countries, the European Commission and all governments that are members of CITES to follow France’s lead and throw their support behind an Appendix I listing for Atlantic bluefin.”

The proposed listing on CITES Appendix I was originally tabled by the Principality of Monaco. Fisheries experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the scientific committee of the management commission for this fishery (ICCAT) have both confirmed that Atlantic bluefin tuna meets the criteria for listing on CITES Appendix I.

The 175 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) next meet on 13-25 March in Doha, Qatar, where Atlantic bluefin tuna will be the headline marine species.  Support the work of WWF with a monthly donation from your pay.