The European Commission has shown its willingness to support a ban on blue fin tuna, when it chose to provisionally back a proposed international trading ban on the fish, on Tuesday of last week. The body has declared that it also intends to try and convince EU Member States to support Monaco’s bid to get such tuna put on the endangered species list under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

It is widely accepted that bluefin tuna is being fished to such an extent that it has become unsustainable, with various MEPs favouring tough measures being put in place in the review of the Common Fisheries Policy which is currently underway. But whilst the move has been praised for taking an important step in the right direction, green groups including WWF and Greenpeace and MEPs are only cautiously optimistic, recognising that the EU bears a large responsibility for ‘the current disastrous situation’.

A scientific review panel will now be charged with assessing the latest scientific evidence before the EU’s CITES Management Committee convenes on 21 September, at which point the review team will present its results. The CITES Committee, which is comprised of ministry representatives from Member States will then need to agree on a qualified majority to ultimately back the proposed ban.