Tuna, polar bear bans rejected

On 18 March I went to a meeting where members of CITES voted against a ban on Atlantic Bluefin tuna.

"CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival."

The ban would mean that only domestic fishing would still be permitted, and it was felt by the majority present that this would be unfair for those (developing countries) who rely on export for economic survival.

It was also expressed that most parties felt ICCAT (The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) was monitoring the situation sufficiently using scientific evidence.

Many thought this proposal by Monaco was premature and unnecessary.

Votes:
20 in favour (including WWF, TRAFFIC, FAO. Kenya, US, and Norway).
68 against (including Canada, Japan, Korea, Senegal, UAE, Chile, Venezuela, Grenada, Libya and Turkey).
30 abstentions.

It was widely recognised that this species has been over-exploited, but most parties thought it was not in danger of extinction. All conceded a need to reduce overall quantities of fishing.

Today parties also voted against stricter protection of the polar bear, saying that CITES is already providing adequate monitoring. Further protection would not stop 'sport' hunting, but would negatively affect the indigenous population who rely on polar bear 'products' for their survival, said Steve Nash, Chief of the Capacity Building Unit, CITES Secretariat. Qatar supported a higher level of protection, as did 48 other parties, but 62 opposed it. There were 11 abstensions.

On Sunday there is a meeting about the African Elephant Action plan. I met some members of the Zimbabwe delegation. They told me that wildlife in Zimbabwe is a commodity, but that they take its protection very seriously, using 'adaptive management', and have recently managed to put in place prohibitive penalties for poachers.

A controversial point is whether the sale of stockpiled ivory and rhino horn should be allowed.

Learn more about the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
here.