Tuna ban not dead yet

The European Commission has signalled it intends to keep pushing for a total ban of international trade in bluefin tuna if enough member states support the idea.

The issue was again raised last week during a meeting of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament, just days after a proposed ban was blocked by a few Mediterranean member states, including Malta.

A representative of the European Commission told the committee that although there was not the necessary majority of member states needed to support the Commission’s original position, it all depended on whether Monaco went ahead with its initiative to propose that bluefin tuna be included in Annex 1 of the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

“The Commission’s position is still to support a total ban. However, the EU will make its formal position known once fresh scientific data is presented by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) at its meeting in November. Following this, environment and fisheries ministers will be meeting in December to take a formal position,” the official said.

“It all depends on whether there will be a qualified majority at Council level,” the official added.

Last month Malta, Cyprus, France, Spain, Italy and Greece managed to block the Commission’s proposal to support Monaco’s initiative to include the lucrative species in the list of most protected species under the UN’s Cites convention. In Monaco, the sale of tuna is already banned in restaurants and fishmongers.

The UN meeting will take place in March and despite the Mediterranean member states’ opposition, the Commission is still hoping it will manage to turn the tables and find the necessary majority in time.

After the proposal was blocked, the fishermen and the aquaculture industry in Malta lauded the decision as they argued that a total ban in international tuna trade would have signified the death of the industry in Malta.