Europe Fails to Agree on Bluefin Tuna Ban

22.09.2009 MSNBC

BRUSSELS - A sharply divided European Union failed Tuesday to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as the bloc's Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary a ban on catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados.

The EU's executive commission urged EU governments to agree to a temporary ban until the stocks recovered but Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France and Italy — with strong fishermen's lobbies at home — insisted on continuing the hunt despite the precarious state of the species.

For environmentalists, the move means a further step toward the bluefin tuna's commercial extinction.

"They are pushing tuna to the point of no return," said Xavier Pastor of the Oceana protection group. "It is deplorable that the EU member states who are mostly responsible for the depletion of bluefin tuna stocks refused to agree to a measure that would have helped to reverse the situation."

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