EU rejects tuna proposals
BELGIUM: Europe's Mediterranean fishing nations have rejected
measures to protect the endangered bluefin tuna proposed last month by
the European Union fishing chief Maria Damanaki, EU officials said on
Thursday.
The decision late on Wednesday means the 27-nation EU joins
international quota talks in Paris this week without a mandate for
negotiating tough measures to conserve the fish, whose numbers have
declined by more than half over the last 40 years.
The EU was seen as a key champion of Atlantic bluefin, which can grow
to the size of an average horse, accelerate faster than a sports car and
can fetch $100,000 each at market in Japan, where they are prized by
sushi lovers. The total bluefin quota for 2010 was set at 13,500 tonnes
and Damanaki said last month that to give the giant fish a real chance
of recovery.
Reuters
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