Japan says it would ignore bluefin tuna ban

The ban, meant to save the species from extinction, has the support of many European nations but is opposed by Japan.

TOKYO, March 4, 2010 (AFP) - Japan said on Thursday it would ignore any ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a proposal that has won US support ahead of a crucial vote next month.

The ban, meant to save the species from extinction, has the support of many European nations but is opposed by Japan, which consumes three quarters of the global catch of bluefin tuna, a species much valued in sushi and sashimi.

"The situation is becoming more difficult for Japan," said the vice fisheries minister Masahiko Yamada, ahead of a March 13-25 meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"Japan will inevitably have to take a reservation" if the body votes for a trade ban at the meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, he said.

Member countries which take a "reservation" would effectively be able to keep trading with other nations that also opt out of the ban.

Tokyo says it prefers other ways to make the catch more sustainable.

In November, Japan said it supported a 40 percent quota cut agreed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The body agreed to slash the total catch in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 22,000 tons in 2009 to 13,500 tons this year.

Environmentalists say industrial fleets routinely exceed such limits.

Monaco has spearheaded the drive for a ban, which enjoys strong support from Britain and Germany, but is opposed by Spain, Greece and Malta, which all have significant tuna industries.

France, the biggest producer of bluefin tuna for consumption, has spoken in favour of a ban, but for a limited duration and not for another 18 months.

Other countries believed to be opposed to a ban include Canada and China.

A ban on the tuna trade would require support by two-thirds of the roughly 175 nations that make up CITES.

Bluefin stocks in the Western Atlantic have fallen by more than 80 percent from 1970 to 2007.

A 232.6-kilogram (512-pound) bluefin fetched a near-record 16.28 million yen (176,000 dollars) this year at Tokyo's famous Tsukiji fish market.