Bluefin Tuna stocks are in serious decline and Governments have rejected adding it to the Endangered Species list at a recent UN wildlife meeting. The proposal was backed by the U.S, but the Canadian government said they would “fight tooth and nail” to keep the threatened fish OFF the Endangered List. The motivation behind this choice is the interests of Canadian fishing industries, specifically large scale industrialized fishing operations.
“This exploitation is no longer exploitation by traditional fishing people to meet regional needs,” Monaco’s Patrick Van Klaveren told delegates. “Industrial fishing of species is having a severe effect on numbers of this species and its capacity to recover. We are facing a real ecosystem collapse.”
“We were expecting to have a real debate but it was not possible,” said Gael de Rotalier of the European Union. “There was a strong feeling in the room against any involvement of CITES in marine issues. They were making it a matter of principle and not looking at the merits of the case.”
This type of story seems to be more and more prevalent in the news as ecosystems are slowly being eroded by private interests and greed. As consumers we also have a responsibility not to buy into systems that perpetuate the destruction of the Earth’s complex and fragile ecosystems.
The best way to do that is stay informed, make a list and research the foods you eat and the other products you buy every day, replace the harmful ones with helpful, fair trade, natural products. You can also help by spreading the word, holding those responsible for damage to our ecosystems and encouraging others to do the same.
(quotes from this article- check it out here. Here is another endangered species in Canada Article as well.)
