Bluefin canapes anyone?

Bluefin canapes anyone?

So the trade in bluefin tuna lives on, at least until the bluefin dies out.

Unless quotas are adhered to and policed, the future, as seen by the environmentalists, is bleak indeed.

It seems such are the vested interests, a ban will always be hard to implement.

And it doesn’t help the very the mechanics of the CITES decision-making process is laboured and open to all manner of tactical maneouvering. 

Many might think preserving a species would come before diplomatic showboating but the Libyan delegation’s performance was apparently pure theatre.

A procedural ploy was brought into play amidst much shouting and accusations of poor science.

A vote took place straight away and the planned ban was overturned without so much as an examination of the scientific and economic issues at hand.

So what now for the bluefin? It’s feared by some that existing quotas are too generous to prevent stocks crashing still further.

You can be sure countries that rely on the fish as an industry, like Libya, and countries that eat bluefin, mainly Japan, will continue to take it from ocean to table as long as they can.

Meanwhile, the night before the tuna decision, a good many representatives of the 175 member nations of CITES were invited to a reception at the Japanese embassy here in Doha. Guess what was on the menu? 

Yep, sushi, bluefin style.