Bluefin tuna still on the hook, ban vote fails

A proposal to ban the export of prized Atlantic bluefin tuna has failed. The United States, Norway and Kenya voted fully in favour — Japan, Canada and many poor countries against. The European Union backs a ban but wants any implementation to follow further research into stocks. Environmental groups warn that bluefin tuna faces disappearance because of overfishing.

Monaco introduced the proposal at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, in Doha.

Japan buys three-quarters of the global bluefin haul, and is campaigning to prevent Mediterranean and Atlantic catches from falling under CITES’ Appendix I, covering outlawed international commerce.

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