Fishy tales

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established in 1975 to prevent international trade contributing to the extinction of endangered species. CITES has worked well but there is an increasing trend of economic opportunists hijacking the agenda to the detriment of conservation.This was demonstrated yesterday with two poor decisions taken at the CITES meeting in Doha. The first was the defeat of a US proposal to ban the trade of polar bear skins and the second the defeat of a Monaco proposal backed by the US to ban the export of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. The polar bear decision was dissapointing because polar bears are in enough trouble already from the loss of Arctic ice due to climate change without being subjected to hunting as well. It was, however, a decision made with the interests of poor people relying on subsistence hunting at heart.There was no such justification for the rejection of the Atlantic Tuna proposal which was the result of the active lobbying and coercion of small dependent nations by Japan. The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna population has reduced by 80% since 1970 and is in danger of complete collapse. Japan consumes 80% of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna catch to feed their insatiable appetite for Bluefin Sushi and do not want their supply jeopordized.

It is fascinating to see that Canada was one of the countries that voted with Japan against the proposal, apparently learning nothing from their 1992 experience with the collapse of the Canadian Cod Fishery. Canada refused to heed warnings from scientists prior to the collapse and just did not believe that their multi-billion dollar cod fishery could ever collapse. They continued to allow overfishing with destructive habitat destroying "draggers" until the fishery totally collapsed in 1992 with 40,000 people losing their jobs and many communities economically destroyed. The ecological changes as a result of cod fishery collapse make it unlikley that it will ever recover. We will never again see, like the exlorer John Cabot in 1497, fish so thick around the rocky shores of Newfoundland that they almost blocked his ship. If you are interested in the cod story I strongly recommend that you read the fascinating book by Mark Kurlansky written in 1998 titled "Cod".

Japan and Canada argue that the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna can be sustainably managed through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICATT)and that it is unnecessary to impose a CITES trade ban but they ignore the fact that the fishery has not been managed well and this is not going to change. Japan has a lot to lose from the collapse of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishery but unfortunately they will then move on to other tuna fisheries that have not yet collapsed like those off the coasts of Somalia and Australia. In the absence of consequences for mismanagement and over-exploitation bad behaviour by selfish nations is not going to change.

The sun was glinting off the sea
Reflecting brightly back to me
And I was squinting through the glare
Trying to see what’s hidden there

When scaly mirrors flaring bright
With a silver brilliant light
Glittered briefly in the blue
Dazzling as he flashed through