Malta was the only EU state yesterday to vote against a European Commission proposal banning the international trade of bluefin tuna from next year.
The EU will next week be taking a stance in favour of a conditional listing of bluefin tuna in Annex I of the convention for the protection of endangered species (Cites). But to trigger a ban, the proposal has to be supported by two-thirds of the 179 parties to the convention.
Sources close to yesterday's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) meeting, where the final decision was taken, said that during the vote only Malta stuck to its original position. "The other Mediterranean member states who originally were against the ban, including France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain all changed their position for some reason and voted in favour of the listing of bluefin tuna as an endangered species."
Before the vote was taken, Malta made an official declaration on the issue giving its reasons for voting against the Commission's proposal.
"Malta's principal consideration is to ensure the sustainability of the stocks," Malta declared.
It maintains that the most effective governance model for regulating the fishery should continue to be the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as a regulatory fisheries management organisation.
The Commission's proposal "would have serious, adverse socio-economic implications for Malta, which are not justified by the objectives purported to be achieved for improvement of the bluefin tuna stocks. Malta, therefore, cannot support the proposal," the declaration said.
Notwithstanding its opposition, Malta will now have to take a similar stance as the other EU member states at next week's CITES conference in Doha.
Japan, whose sushi and sashimi trade consume almost 80 per cent of all bluefin tuna caught in the Mediterranean, has already declared it would not support the ban and would try to block the proposal.
Industry observers said that, although the support of the EU for a total ban carried a lot of political clout, Japan must not be underestimated. "Japan also carries weight and will be doing its upmost to garner the support of quite a number of countries in order to block the proposal."
The proposal to include bluefin tuna into the endangered species list was submitted by Monaco earlier this year.
Malta is considered to have the largest tuna ranching facilities in the Mediterranean and Maltese fisherman also have become dependent on tuna exports to Japan to sustain their living.
According to the Federation of Aquaculture Producers, tuna exports have become the third most exported Maltese product, amounting to about €100 million in value last year.
Apart from opposing the ban, Malta yesterday also insisted that fishermen and stakeholders should be compensated if a tuna ban is imposed. However, even on this point there is still no agreement among member states and there are no sufficient guarantees with regard to compensation.
Under the proposed listing, member states could continue to catch bluefin tuna only within the waters under their jurisdiction in order to supply their local market.