International & Trade

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) under Appendix I of CITES was not adopted today by the Parties.  The proposal, sponsored by the Principality of Monaco, and strongly supported by the United States, garnered intense debate by the Parties due to the importance of this migratory fish species for commercial purposes.  The final tally was 20 in support, 68 against and 30 abstentions.

“The U.S. is strongly committed to protecting the bluefin tuna and restoring the health of the fishery for the benefit of all nations,” said Tom Strickland, head of the U.S. Delegation. “Today’s vote was a setback for the Atlantic bluefin tuna, but we will keep fighting to ensure that the fishery is managed sustainably, so that future generations may see it return to health.”  

“The United States remains committed to ensuring that International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas keeps its commitments to science-based, well enforced management of bluefin tuna," said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. "ICCAT took some unprecedented management steps in 2009, but they are not enough. We will continue to work with ICCAT members to conserve and recover the species.”

Read the complete story at NOAA News.

GENEVA—What will the wealthy do without their caviar?

A leading conservation group says sturgeon species such as the beluga are being pushed to the brink of extinction by overfishing and environmental degradation.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says a complete ban on fishing in the Caspian Sea and elsewhere may be the only way to save the ancient species prized for its eggs, known as caviar.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

PARIS — Efforts to ban international trade in bluefin tuna and polar bears were rejected Thursday by a United Nations conference on endangered species, as delegates in Doha, Qatar refused to back the U.S.-backed measures.

A proposal by Monaco to extend the highest level of U.N. protection to the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin, a fish prized by sushi lovers for its fatty belly flesh, failed by a lopsided vote of 20-68, with 30 abstentions, Juan Carlos Vasquez, a spokesman for the U.N. organization, said.

“It wasn’t a very good day for conservation,” Mr. Vasquez said. “It shows the governments are not ready to adopt trade bans as a way to protect species.”

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora counts 175 member governments, though far fewer were represented for the votes in Doha. European Union nations, whose fleets are most responsible for the overfishing of the bluefin, abstained from voting after the bloc’s own watered-down proposal failed earlier in the day.

Read the complete story at The New York Times.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, today lauded the results of two votes by a working group of the 175th-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in which nations rejected petitions by Monaco and the European Union to list bluefin tuna as an endangered species.

"From the outset I have opposed this misguided policy, and I applaud today's decision to reject proposals to list bluefin tuna under Appendix I of CITES. Approval of this listing would have had crippling effects on the U.S. bluefin tuna fishery, and institutionalized a perverse incentive by effectively punishing countries like the U.S. that attempt to impose responsible domestic fisheries management," said Senator Snowe.  "Indeed, today’s decision is the right tonic at the right time. It will allow domestic and international managers to continue to move forward with the vital work of rebuilding drastically overfished stocks without imposing the burden of unnecessary and punitive trade barriers."

Since the announcement earlier this month that the US would support Monaco's proposal to list the bluefin tuna as endangered under Appendix I of CITES, Senator Snowe has called the decision reckless and said it would ultimately prove ineffectual and cause disproportionate harm to the U.S. bluefin tuna fishery.  Most recently, Senator Snowe met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, who led the U.S. delegation to CITES, and further reiterated her opposition.

China, Japan, Russia and a handful of other countries are at the heart of a defeat of a proposal that would have benefited sharks by requiring increased transparency in the shark trade.

Finning  – the practice of cutting off just the fins of sharks and throwing the rest of the shark, often still alive, back overboard for a slow death and wasteful treatment of a food source – is responsible for killing somewhere between 40 million and 100 million sharks per year (the latest estimate from Oceana is 73 million per year). No one really knows because the practice isn't well tracked, and is often done illegally.

So while the species collapses, the members of the UN meeting on shark conservation debate and ultimately make zero progress to protect one of the most important animals in our oceans. The defeat of this measure – far less controversial and easier to enforce than others on the table at the week-long meeting – is a bad sign for our oceans, and us.

Read the complete story at Tree Hugger.