The CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) conference in Doha, Qatar has gotten off to a bad start with the proposed bans on trading in bluefin tuna and polar bears being rejected ("
U. N. Rejects Export Ban on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna". NY Times, March 18, 2010).
I don't understand Japan's thinking. It's the biggest consumer of Atlantic bluefin tuna and has an obvious interest in ensuring that the fishery remains sustainable in the future. The tuna are imported into Japan and there should not be any fishermen's lobby seeking to prevent its livelihood being cut-off. Is Japan choosing to not reduce/suspend its tuna consumption now, even if it means being entirely deprived of it in 10-20 years time? Strange, for a country which has preserved its environment better than most (Chapter 5: Ecological Strategies of Tokugawa Japan, The Unending Frontier, John F Richards) :(
2 Comments:
Unfortunately, a significant factor to the decision might be ego. They're already taking a lot of heat for whaling and other maritime actions, so they might not want to be seen as capitulating here...
True, unfortunately. But talk about cutting your nose to spite your face...
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