UN wildlife body rejects US bluefin tuna ban proposal

A US-BACKED proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna prized in sushi was rejected yesterday by a UN wildlife meeting, with scores of developing nations joining Japan in opposing a measure they feared would devastate fishing economies.

Monaco introduced the proposal at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES.

It argued that extreme measures for the iconic, migratory fish were necessary because the stocks have fallen by 75% due to widespread overfishing.