BRUSSELS - A sharply divided European Union failed yesterday to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as the bloc’s Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary ban on catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados.
The EU’s executive commission urged EU governments to agree to a temporary ban until the stocks recovered but Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, and Italy - with strong fishermen’s lobbies at home - insisted on continuing the hunt despite the precarious state of the species.
For environmentalists, the move means a further step toward the bluefin tuna’s commercial extinction.
“They are pushing tuna to the point of no return,’’ said Xavier Pastor of the Oceana protection group. “It is deplorable that the EU member states who are mostly responsible for the depletion of bluefin tuna stocks refused to agree to a measure that would have helped to reverse the situation.’’
The EU Commission had hoped the 27-nation bloc could take a united stand at the next meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Pushing through a ban on fishing bluefin tuna at the group’s Nov. 6-15 meeting now looks unlikely.
“ICCAT members have to realize that the very future of this iconic stock depends on it,’’ said Joe Borg, EU fisheries commissioner.
Stocks of the bluefin have dwindled for years, with Japan taking some 80 percent of bluefin exports to satisfy demands for the finest raw fish ingredient.
