Tuna Conservation System Needs a Tune-Up

By David Kaczan

Last month saw the passing of World Water Day. Those with a hydrologic inclination gathered at forums, speeches, movie screenings and community events to reflect on all things watery. Documentaries, words of wisdom, and tap water of the highest quality were all consumed with relish.

Whilst these celebrations were a win for the drinking water cause, another watery matter, of the marine variety, went down to crushing defeat. A proposal for a trade ban on the seriously endangered bluefin tuna, was voted down this March at an international gathering in Doha, Qatar. A number of other trade bans proposed for similarly threatened species suffered the same fate.

Bluefin tuna are one on the world’s most desirable fish. These are not the canned fish in your sandwich; these are the delicacy served as the world’s finest Sashimi and Sushi. These are fish that can grow to over 1000 pounds, and can sell for 100 000 dollars apiece in Tokyo’s legendary Tsukiji fish market. And thanks to our ability to vacuum them from the ocean, their numbers are approximately 15% of what they were only a few decades ago.

The tragedy is not just that of a fish species’ demise. The law under which the vote was held, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was thought to be one international agreement with real clout. It has the power to ban trade in a species, and can force countries to halt unsustainable exploitation. For the first time, however, it was voting on a creature worth billions of dollars, and unsurprisingly, money won. Whether this amounts to pulling the teeth from this keystone environmental treaty is yet to be seen.

The primary antagonist in this failure was Japan. The country consumes 80 percent of the global catch, and ensures that its allies – many conveniently cashed up with Japanese aid money – attend such forums to repay with their vote. Proposal after proposal for species’ protection was defeated: the hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks (shark fin soup), the spiny dogfish shark (fish and chips), red and white corals (for jewellery) and more besides. To add insult to injury, the Japanese delegation served the endangered bluefin at their welcome reception. Subtle.

For arguably the most important case -that of tuna – the excuse provided was that there already exists a body to regulate the catch: the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). Unfortunately for tuna (and ultimately, tuna consumers), ICCAT is embarrassingly bad at fulfilling its mandate. In fishing circles (and perhaps amongst fish) it’s darkly quipped that the acronym stands for ‘International conspiracy to catch all tuna.’ Given that it has overseen the near complete destruction of the Mediterranean tuna stock, it has a ring of truth to it.

Surprisingly, Japan found solidarity with an unlikely ally – Canada. Ottawa voted against the treaty because it would end our own small, but very carefully managed, tuna fishing operations. Good management, however, is not something widely practiced elsewhere. Japan and the Mediterranean countries have run roughshod over the science for years. In 2007, scientists recommended a total catch of 13 500 tonnes – ICCAT settled for 30 000, and then allowed a catch of 60 000 anyway. As a result, the following year’s suggested target was 7000, but true to form, fishing nations decided on double that. The problem is, you can’t bargain with a fish, especially one that’s critically endangered.

Blunt problems sometimes necessitate blunt instruments. A trade ban would have hurt countries that do the right thing, but given the failure of governments to stick to the advised quotas, it was needed as a last resort. The bad news is that collapse of the world’s major fisheries continues apace, and countries such as Japan seem determined to bring about the scientists’ worst fears. The good news is that recent management changes are showing that another way is possible – a recent study in Science magazine suggested that the decline in some fisheries has slowed, marginally. But in the meantime, think carefully about where your sushi comes from.

This article first appeared in Gateway on April 1st, and can be found Here

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