Bluefin tuna ban 'would cost Malta economy 1% of GDP'

Including bluefin tuna in Appendix I of Cites and ban trade in it would cost the Maltese economy one per cent of its GDP, Labour MEP Edward Scicluna said.

"This is like asking to close down the whole salmon industry in Scotland in one swipe without batting an eyelid," Prof. Scicluna said in a speech tabled at the European Parliament on Wednesday when MEPs backed a resolution calling for a total ban of international trade in tuna.

He urged the EU not to put bluefin tuna on Appendix I of Cites (The Times wrongly reported yesterday that he called for the species to be included in Appendix I), warning that the EU should apply "common sense and proportionality" rather than support a ban that would cause huge damage to the Maltese economy.

Acknowledging that bluefin tuna needed protecting, he pointed out that stocks were over-exploited by the fishing practices of a small number of fishing trawling companies from leading EU member states.

"If bluefin tuna stocks are being diminished by a handful of trawling companies from France, Spain and Italy, each catching thousands of tonnes, then Maltese fishermen with their single-line system of fishing do not pose a threat to the long-term sustainability of BFT," he argued.;

Prof. Scicluna suggested that if bluefin tuna must be on Cites, then the EU should follow the advice of the expert group of the Fisheries and Aquaculture organisation of the United Nations and list it in Appendix II.