Canada, U.S. stymied on tuna conservation

Canadian and U.S. officials are worried tuna could be listed as an endangered species by 2010 if catches aren't limited soon, but they are getting no support from other countries.

Representatives from the two countries attended meetings last weekend of the International Committee on the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, a 45-member organization with countries from Europe, Africa and North America.

Scientists with ICCAT have warned for years that too many bluefin tuna are being caught off Europe and Africa.

But catch limits are higher than scientists recommend, and even those limits are largely ignored, with actual catches up to 50 per cent higher than allowed.

That led the U.S. to ask for up to a five-year ban on fishing off Europe and Africa, a motion that Canada supported.

But other members voted for business as usual, much to the dismay of the U.S.

"It's time to stop. This stock is in a crisis mode," National Marine Fisheries Service director Bill Hogarth told CBC News this week.

"If we don't do it [the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species] will put it on appendix one and we won't have any controls."

Jim Jones of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans said despite that risk, a quarter of the countries at the table didn't want controls put in place.

Quota cut

"Some of them responded half-heartedly. Others didn't respond at all," said Jones.

ICCAT cut Canada's tuna quota by 20 per cent this year, and the full quota was caught very quickly.

The World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace have condemned ICCAT for its inaction.

Those two groups could lobby to have bluefin tuna labelled endangered. If that happens, trade could be halted not just on the European and Afrian catch, but also on the North American bluefin tuna that American and Canadian fishermen sell to the sushi market.