While the West wants a total ban on international fish trade Asian and North African nations especially Japan is opposing it as such a move will adversely affect its fishery industry particularly sushi.
Thousands of delegates from 170 countries are attending the summit mandated every three years by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The head of CITES, Willem Wijnstekers has noted that there is considerable support for the ban on the Bluefish Tuna, and was quoted by the local media as saying that there is no scientific argument against the ban.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation has noted that the fish meets Appendix II standards of the Convention that require a total ban on trade.Monaco, which has sponsored the ban says numbers have fallen by nearly 75 per cent since 1957.The ban is backed by the United States and the European Union but Japan, which consumes 80 percent of Tuna, has already declared that will ignore any prohibition. PTI BS