Japanese fishermen welcome rejection of tuna ban

TOKYO

Japanese fish dealers welcomed Friday the rejection of a proposed international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, a prized ingredient in traditional dishes such as sushi and sashimi.

Thursday's vote at a U.N. meeting in Doha, Qatar, rejecting the proposed export ban was front page news on all major Japanese newspapers Friday morning. Japan consumes about 80 percent of the world's Atlantic bluefin tuna.

The Japanese government and fishing industry argued that an outright export ban was too drastic a step, and that existing catch quotas be more strictly enforced to protect the species from overfishing.

"Rather than ban exports, we should make sure to limit the number (of bluefin tuna) caught," said Kazuhiro Takayama, a fish wholesaler at Tokyo's sprawling Tsukiji fish market. "A lot of people depend on this fish for their livelihoods."

Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks have fallen by 60 percent from 1997 to 2007, and environmentalists argue that a trading ban is the only way to preserve the fish.