A catch of bluefin tuna. Taiwan is the latest country to weigh in on the proposal to ban bluefin tuna fishing. (Photo: Tuna Seiners)

Proposed bluefin tuna ban opposed

TAIWAN
Monday, February 08, 2010, 22:30 (GMT + 9)

Taiwan on Saturday opposed a proposed international ban on fishing bluefin tuna in favour of continued individual country quotas.

Tsai Jih-yao, vice director of the Fisheries Administration, said he hoped the fishing of bluefin will continue to be controlled by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

Tsai said there are no Taiwan fishing trawlers catching bluefin tuna in the West Atlantic because the quota for Taiwan is too small - only 60 tonnes per year, DPT reports.

In turn, the quota for Japan, the world's top consumer of bluefin tuna, is several thousand tonnes per year.

Taiwan's Tungkang Fishery Association also protested the proposed ban on bluefin tuna fishing.

Lin Han-chou, secretary-general of the association, said banning or cutting the catch of bluefin tuna will severely hurt the livelihood of fishermen at Tungkang, one of the main bases of Taiwan's ocean-going fishing trawlers.

"Tungkang trawlers catch between 200-300 bluefin tunas each year, accounting for one-sixth of Tungkang fishermen's income," he said.

The European principality of Monaco has lobbied the 175 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) members to agree on a global ban on Atlantic bluefin trade at a meeting in Qatar's capital Dohas in March.

Japan objected to the ban while France demanded a delayed imposition of the ban.

Atlantic bluefin can grow to three metres long and weigh over 650 kilogrammes, fetching JPY 2,000 (USD 20) per slice in a Japanese restaurants.

CITES has warned that the Atlantic bluefin tuna population has declined over 80 per cent since the 19th century, and environmentalists are seeking stronger fishing controls to save the fish from extinction.

Related articles:

- Wildlife trade agency backs ban on bluefin tuna
- France wants tuna trade ban in 18 months: government source
- Italy halts bluefin fishing for a year
- European Parliament backs ban on bluefin tuna trade
- France unwilling to ban bluefin tuna fishing

By Denise Recalde
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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