Bigeye tuna faces extinction as protection calls fail
source: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/bigeye-tuna-faces-extinction-as-protection-calls-fail-2009...
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Pacific tuna will be vulnerable to severe overfishing for at least another year after negotiations to protect one of the most threatened species failed.
The Asian fishing nations of South Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan blocked calls from small Pacific countries to cut bigeye tuna fishing on the high seas by 50 per cent.
Instead, nations meeting at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in Tahiti stuck with the 10 per cent reduction planned for 2010.
Greenpeace Australia described the decision as ''criminal'' and falling far short of scientific recommendations for sustainable fishing of bigeye, a much sought-after sashimi fish that is at risk of becoming the next bluefin.
''It is beyond belief that Japan, [South] Korea, China and Taiwan are unable to follow the advice given to them by their own scientists and continue to prioritise short-term economic gains over the need to ensure long-term sustainable supplies of tuna to their own consumers,'' said Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia's Pacific oceans campaigner in Tahiti.
''This is an economic and social crime that is repeated in ocean after ocean, year after year, and which will soon lead to the disappearance of the world's favourite fish - tuna.''
Over half of the world's tuna comes from the central Pacific.
The Asian fishing nations of South Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan blocked calls from small Pacific countries to cut bigeye tuna fishing on the high seas by 50 per cent.
Instead, nations meeting at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in Tahiti stuck with the 10 per cent reduction planned for 2010.
Greenpeace Australia described the decision as ''criminal'' and falling far short of scientific recommendations for sustainable fishing of bigeye, a much sought-after sashimi fish that is at risk of becoming the next bluefin.
''It is beyond belief that Japan, [South] Korea, China and Taiwan are unable to follow the advice given to them by their own scientists and continue to prioritise short-term economic gains over the need to ensure long-term sustainable supplies of tuna to their own consumers,'' said Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia's Pacific oceans campaigner in Tahiti.
''This is an economic and social crime that is repeated in ocean after ocean, year after year, and which will soon lead to the disappearance of the world's favourite fish - tuna.''
Over half of the world's tuna comes from the central Pacific.
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- tags:
- Overfishing, Tuna
