TUNA CONSERVATION TALKS IN JAPAN

[Anonymous]

Tuna conservation talks in Japan
A
major effort to try to reverse the decline in tuna stocks worldwide is
getting under way in Kobe, Japan.Five regional bodies responsible for
managing stocks of tuna, one of the most valuable and endangered
species, are at the meeting.They are to discuss plans to set up a
global tracking system to certify the origin of every tuna that is
sold.Conservationists blame illegal and unregulated fishing and
unsustainable quotas for tuna’s dramatic decline.In the western
Atlantic, the number of bluefin tuna capable of spawning is less than
one-fifth of what it was 30 years ago, according to the body that
monitors fish stocks there.

Certificates of origin
Last
year, Japan admitted overfishing southern bluefin tuna and accepted a
deep cut in its quota as punishment.It called the meeting of the
different bodies that regulate tuna fishing across the globe to discuss
measures to ensure the survival of the species.Delegates from
governments and the fishing industry will discuss a proposal to force
fishermen to produce certificates of origin for the tuna they
catch.This would expand conservation programmes already in place in
some parts of the world.It would go some way towards meeting the
demands of conservation campaigners, like the WWF, who warn that tuna
species face a high risk of what they call “commercial extinction” due
to weak management of the industry.The capacity of the world’s tuna
fleet is now far greater than that required to catch the legal quota,
they say, and governments are not doing enough to implement
conservation measures or to prosecute those fishermen who break the
rules.

[Author]

January 22, 2007 at 12:43 PM