A U.S.-backed proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna prized in sushi was rejected today by a U.N. wildlife meeting, with scores of developing nations joining Japan in opposing a measure they feared would devastate fishing economies, according to AP. It was a stunning setback for conservationists who had hoped the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, would give the iconic fish a lifeline. They joined the proposal's sponsor Monaco in arguing that extreme measures were necessary because the stocks have fallen by 75 percent due to widespread overfishing. «Let's take science and throw it out the door,» said Susan Lieberman, director of international policy with the Pew Environment Group in Washington. «It's pretty irresponsible of the governments to hear the science and ignore the science. Clearly, there was pressure from the fishing interests. The fish is too valuable for its own good.» As the debate opened, Monaco painted a dire picture for a once-abundant species that roams across vast stretched of the Atlantic Ocean and can grow to as big as 1,500 pounds. It has been done in by the growing demand for raw tuna for traditional dishes such as sushi and sashimi. The bluefin variety _ called «hon-maguro» in Japan _ is particularly prized with a 200-kilogram (440-pound) Pacific bluefin tuna fetched a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) last year. «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.»
