Blog Log: 31 January 2010
from Pulau Hantu
Shell we dance?
from The annotated budak and Before the day dies and Shrimp
Seahorse search at sunset
from wild shores of singapore
Hypopyra sp.
from Urban Forest
Little Egret foraging in shallow water
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Common Flameback foraging
from Bird Ecology Study Group
What is Explore?
from Flying Fish Friends
Satiman Jamin and Melissa Darlyne Chow, New Straits Times 3 Feb 10;
KUALA TERENGGANU: Erosion along the beaches here and in Penang have residents worried that their homes might be affected and fishermen their livelihood threatened.
At Kampung Pantai Tok Jembal, near here, constant pounding of the waves along the beach had caused a two-kilometre stretch of the coastal road from the jetty at Dalam Rhu Kuala Badak nearby to cave in.
Residents and fishermen claimed the waves had gone some 100 metres inland ever since a sea wall was erected to upgrade the nearby Sultan Mahmud Airport more than a year ago.
Fisherman Nasir Jusoh, 41, said the stretch of road had been damaged since the monsoon season started in November.
"We have not been able to land our boats at the jetty and this is a problem for many of us."
Nasir claimed there was no erosion before the construction of the sea wall at the airport.
Another fisherman Mazlan Ghani, 43, said not many people came to buy their freshly-landed fish since the road was damaged.
"To get here they have to use an alternative road which is further away."
He said Seberang Takir state assemblyman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman knew about the problem and had assured them the road would be repaired soon.
When contacted, Razif told the New Straits Times that RM6.5 million had been allocated to repair the eroded coastline at the village.
In George Town, Penang, beachfront property owners are concerned with the massive erosion at the Tanjung Bungah seafront.
A hotel operator and a director of an international school along the seafront complained yesterday of the erosion, which they claimed, was getting alarmingly close to their property fronting the beach.
Paradise Sandy Beach Resort general manager Jeff de Zilva said vast amounts of sand had been sucked out to sea, reducing, what was initially a flat, sandy surface, to slopes.
To compound matters, palm trees planted along the beach have "mysteriously disappeared".
A check at the seafront showed several palm trees were being held secure by ropes tied to the fences of the Dalat International School.
"This started about a month ago. The problem is getting worse.
"We have lost something like five to six feet of sand, while the beach fronting the school has lost about eight feet," said De Zilva, adding that he had spoken to Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who had inspected the area.
He said several officers from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) had also visited the area,
Dalat International school director, Karl Steinkamp said he was shocked to see the change at the seafront.
A DID officer said an investigation was being conducted to determine the cause of the erosion.
However, a study by the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia revealed that abnormal sedimentation had occurred along Penang's coastline due to reclamation.
Reclamation had contributed to drastic changes in tidal currents in the Penang channel and sea around the state.
This had brought about significant siltation and has affected the natural hydro-flow of Penang's coastal waters.
Kristy Sexton-McGrath, ABC News 4 Feb 10;
Researchers working on a remote Cape York island in far north Queensland say they are concerned about the impact of high tides on turtle nesting habitats.
A group of scientists has been counting and examining turtles at Milman Island. David Roe from the Sea Turtle Foundation says early results show numbers for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle are steady.
However, he says high tides are creating vertical walls of sand that is making it hard for turtles to reach the island to nest.
"The fear is with rising sea levels and increased heights of storm surges we can expect to see more of that type of erosion of suitable nesting beaches for turtles," he said.
"The high tides were building over the top of the beach, they were building a vertical wall of sand and the poor turtles couldn't get up over that wall of sand and get into the dry sand. They like to nest up on the dry sand."
Anna Vidot, ABC News 3 Feb 10;
Tasmania's low lying protected shorelines are showing signs of recent and accelerating erosion, most likely caused by rising seas.
Scientists say there is evidence sea levels around the island state have risen 14 centimetres over the past 100 years.
They're taking a closer look at one section of the coastline to establish just how much damage that's caused, and how fast the decline has been.
The project is being conducted by the Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management group and scientists from the University of Tasmania's Centre for Spatial Information Science, to look at the potential effect of rising sea levels on the north west coast of Tasmania into the future.
The project will focus on how the effects of rising seas on biodiversity will in turn affect the community of Circular Head.
As part of the project, the University's coastal geomorphologist Chris Sharples and his team walked the length of the coast from the north west tip of the island, eastwards past Smithton.
He says they saw plenty of evidence that rising seas are most likely already causing significant and rapid erosion along half that section of coast.
"We do see evidence in this area of effects on the shorelines which are consistent with what you would expect from sea level rise.
"We're seeing mature trees that would have germinated tens of metres inland now being undermined by erosion," he says.
"There are some shorelines that have been naturally eroding for thousands of years, but these saltmarsh shorelines that we're talking about, under a stable sea level they would be stable.
"But they're not stable here; they're changing at what is quite obviously a rapid rate."
The retreating saltmarsh is bad news for the biodiversity of this area of north west Tasmanian coast, as well for the communities and industries in the area.
The aquaculture industry, for example, relies on clear and clean waters that will be lose its quality as the saltmarsh disappears.
"I think it will have a definite impact on fisheries and it will make the waters more murky," says Tasmania University researcher Vishnu Prahalad, who's looking at vegetation changes along the coast.
"There's also increased risk of coastal erosion without the saltmarshes.
"Saltmarshes baffle [disperse and slow down] the waves and protect the hinterland from coastal erosion, and if there are no saltmarshes that will definitely increase the risk of coastal erosion."
"These environments are providing valuable services to land owners adjacent to the coast and to aquaculturalists who are seeking to have good quality water, to recreational and commercial fishers in the area" says project leader, Dr Richard Mount from the University of Tasmania.
"What we're hoping is that we can identify what [those services or benefits] are and then add that into the understanding that people have of their area and assist them of the management of what they're doing."
Jonathan Cheng, Asian Wall Street Journal 3 Feb 10;
HONG KONG—Jodi Rowley spent two weeks last year fighting off leeches and munching on wild rats in the mountains of Vietnam in search of a 20 millimeter frog—an undiscovered forest-dwelling species she promptly named after a Hong Kong hedge fund manager.
Distressed-asset investor Robert Appleby hasn't yet met his namesake, Leptolalax applebyi, which weighs about one gram and makes a croaking noise that closely resembles a cricket's chirp.
"It's like being a very proud father," says the 48-year-old Mr. Appleby, who introduced the frog to a small gathering of fellow financiers and other friends over champagne and noodles at an art gallery in Hong Kong last Thursday.
The hedge-fund manager, who majored in zoology as an Oxford University undergraduate, spent three years as a science research assistant, as well as a 13-year stint at Lehman Brothers. Today, he runs a Hong Kong-based distressed-asset fund called ADM Capital Ltd. that he co-founded in 1996. The fund manages about US$1.6 billion in assets on behalf of endowments, foundations and pension funds. But Mr. Appleby's first love was always frogs and other wildlife.
On weekends, he goes bird-watching or makes treks into Hong Kong's country parks to hang out with "other moth nerds."
After a chance meeting four years ago with Ms. Rowley, now a 29-year-old amphibian biologist, Mr. Appleby found someone who shared his passion for frogs, and he committed to financing her fieldwork through a foundation he started with his business partners. Among the missions of the ADM Capital Foundation: supporting ecological projects in Asia where it could make a difference. "Some hedge-fund managers buy Ferraris," says Lisa Genasci, the foundation's director. "Robert has different passions."
Mr. Appleby says his inner scientist is able to live vicariously through Ms. Rowley's e-mailed updates from the field. "Jodi is very colorful and witty, and she's dedicated her life to the study of frogs," Mr. Appleby explained in a recent interview.
Ms. Rowley spends as many as nine months of the year "in a bog," leading teams of Vietnamese biology students through a maze of unexploded ordnance in the mountainous jungles of central Vietnam.
During a 2007 expedition, she began noticing a distinctive, cricket-like croak, and spent several days tracking down two of the little creatures. After trawling through 19th-century French texts and modern frog croak databases, she was confident she'd discovered a new species—one with unusual colorations on its smooth brown skin, including white nipple-like pectoral glands.
The findings were published last year in the scientific journal Zootaxa, and in gratitude to her patron, Ms. Rowley named the new species Leptolalax applebyi after Mr. Appleby, who she described as "an investor in biodiversity conservation and scientific capacity building in Asia."
Mr. Appleby says he plans to make his first trip to the mountain where Ms. Rowley first discovered the frog this summer, in hopes of being able to meet his namesake face to face. Success is far from assured: Ms. Rowley estimates there may only be several thousand Appleby frogs in existence, all living within a radius of five or 10 kilometers (three to six miles) of where she found them. She hasn't studied the species long enough to know its life span.
For Mr. Appleby, the trip itself is a chance to relive his zoologist dreams. "It's energizing," says Mr. Appleby. "If I got fired—if I fired myself—this is absolutely what I'd do."
Jody Bourton, BBC News 29 Jan 10;
A new species of frog undergoes a remarkable transformation as it grows into an adult, report scientists.
Shiny black juvenile frogs with yellow spots dramatically change into peach coloured adults with bright blue eyes.
All change for the Papua New Guinea frog (left: a young frog and right: an older member of the same species)
Scientists discovered the unique frog in a remote part of south-eastern Papua New Guinea.
The bright pattern of the young frog could act as a warning to predators, they say, but it is a mystery why the adult then loses this colour.
The scientists from Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, report their findings in the journal Copeia.
Amphibian species come in a range of colours and patterns, from the brightly patterned poison dart frogs to the plainer greens of the common toad.
After metamorphosising from a tadpole, some frogs change in colour as they get older.
However, it is unknown for juveniles and adults of a species to have strikingly different colour and pattern schemes.
The research team came across the new species of frog Oreophryne ezra while on a expedition to find new species on Sudest Island, Louisiade Archipelago, off the south-eastern tip of New Guinea.
Of the new species they found, the frog particularly caught their attention.
"It's always exciting to discover a species you know to be new. However, the obviously unusual biology of this frog made its discovery especially exciting," says Dr Fred Kraus who along with Dr Allen Allison undertook the study.
"The remarkable thing about this frog is the drastic nature of its change in colour pattern as it matures from a tiny froglet into adulthood," Dr Kraus says.
As a juvenile the frog is dark black with yellow spots and black eyes but then switches to a uniform peach colour with blues eyes.
"This raises the question of what possible function the striking colours of the juveniles might serve," says Dr Kraus.
Juveniles closely resemble the general appearance of some of the poison dart frogs from the tropics.
Like these frogs, the colouration could serve as a warning to potential predators.
Although untested, the frog may also have harmful toxins in its skin like those present in poison dart frogs.
Poison dart frogs have skin that contains harmful alkaloids acting as a chemical defence against predation.
"If this is the case this would make this species another instance of the independent evolution of such a system," says Dr Kraus.
The behaviour of the frog also points to the idea that its colour advertises that it is toxic.
The researchers write how the juvenile frogs perch in conspicuous places during daylight hours and also demonstrated a lack of a well developed escape behaviour, indicating that they have another form of defence.
One aspect that cannot be explained is if the colour offers protection to the juvenile, why does the frog then change its colour scheme as it ages to one that offers no protection.
For now this poses further questions for the researchers.
"No other such instance is known in frogs," Dr Kraus says.
"If it does serve as protective warning colouration, the reason for its loss remains a mystery."
Francisco Jara Yahoo News 3 Feb 10;
SANTO DOMINGO DE HEREDIA, Costa Rica (AFP) – The day when restaurants will serve garlic grasshoppers or beetle larva skewers is getting closer in Costa Rica, where scientists are "growing" insects for human consumption.
Entomologist Manuel Zumbado's research into this alternative food source is inspired by practices in Africa, where insects have long been part of people's diet.
With its rainforests playing host to countless insect species, including thousands that have yet to be identified, Costa Rica is a perfect breeding ground for the work.
From leaf-cutting ants to rhinoceros beetles and a dizzying flurry of butterflies, the Central American nation is also a haven of ecotourism. But is it the next hotbed of mouth-watering bugs?
The food diversification program at the National Biodiversity Institute in Santo Domingo de Heredia, a small city close to the capital San Jose, looks into indigenous insect species.
But it also examines mushrooms, inspired by their importance in diets from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
At the institute, Costa Rican scientists mingle with Bhutan mycology expert Ugyen Yangchen and Elisabeth Zannou, an entomologist from Benin.
Costa Rica and Benin share historical ties, as many slaves were taken from the western African country to Central America during the colonial era.
"Benin knows a lot about insect consumption and Bhutan about eating mushrooms, while Costa Rica is bringing its experience in managing biodiversity," Marianella Feoli, who manages the foundation coordinating the research program, told AFP.
In Benin, termites, grasshoppers and crickets, as well as butterfly and moth larvae are a common part of people's diet, explained Zumbado, who traveled with his colleagues to explore the phenomenon in the coastal country.
"In other countries, gourmet restaurants serve insects," he noted.
"In the beginning, people thought we were a bit crazy, but I think this is an alternative, not only as a survival food, but also as a cultural concept."
Esperanzas, a large grasshopper species with long antennae that abound in Costa Rica's forests and rural areas are "far more savory than shrimp" when seasoned with garlic, according to the researcher. Zumbado should know -- he has consumed scores of insects during his travels in Costa Rica and Benin.
"It's worth the effort to taste them," he added.
"You can fry them, grill them on skewers with onions."
Insects a la fish were a favorite of Benin locals.
As part of his effort to convince a skeptical public not particularly enthused at the thought of munching on crunchy creepy crawlies, the entomologist suggested first adding insect delicacies to the menus of the best restaurants in town.
A boutique hotel in the northern province of Guanacaste -- the country's top tourist destination -- was tempted, an accompanying wine oblige.
"I would recommend a big pricetag for the entree, so that clients appreciate it," Zumbado said with a malicious smile.
The Jakarta Post 3 Feb 10;
Dozens of wild elephants have been roaming in the operational area of US-based leading oil producer Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) in Duri district, Riau over the past week, but the provincial natural resources conservation agency has no plans to capture the giant mammals.
Head of the agency, M. Hutomo, said Wednesday evacuation of the elephants would spark a conflict between humans and the protected animals, which have been displaced from their habitat due to its conversion into palm oil plantations and residential areas.
“Capturing the elephants will not solve the problem. The best solution is to domesticate the elephants for ecotourism interests and the delivery of oil palm kernels,” Hutomo told Antara state news agency.
The agency is deploying a team to monitor the elephants on a daily basis. Hutomo said the elephants had not caused damage to the oil company’s property as they only were only seeking leaves to eat.
Hungry herd stamps around complex
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 4 Feb 10;
A herd of elephants have reportedly been foraging for food in a PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) Duri housing complex in Bengkalis, Pekanbaru.
It is believed that the elephants are suffering from malnutrition.
Dwi Pujosutrisno, in charge of CPI's communications and media relations, said on Wednesday 25 elephants had been making their way to the complex since Jan. 24 to devour the plants.
"The size of the groups vary. They leave the complex after eating and return when they need food."
Dwi said the company management had instructed the security attendants to monitor the elephants' movement. The residents were advised to reduce their outdoor activities in order to avoid the herd.
CPI had grown plantations in areas that bordered Talang Forest in the hopes the elephants would have enough food and stay put.
It seems the plantations are still too young to satisfy the large herd.
WWF spokesperson Syamsidar said that the elephants had trespassed to the complex for foods because their habitat at the Balai Raja Conservation had been spoiled by illegal logging.
The Balai Raja forest currently holds 120 hectares, or, Syamsidar said, 10 percent from the initial squares when it was first designated in 1986 as the conservation area.
"The vast majority has turned to palm plantations and settlements The elephants had never traveled as far as CPI Duri as the location is not within their roaming range," he said.
"It is happening now because the remaining forest has become a swamp, which overflows during rainy season while elephants are not suited to living in wet areas."
The company has reported to the Riau Natural Reserve Office but there has been no follow-up yet.
M. Hutomo, from Natural Reserve Office of Riau, said they had yet to deploy a team because all personnel were dealing with elephant intrusions elsewhere.
The Jakarta Post 4 Feb 10;
While bird-watching may be seen as the domain of environment organizations or biology students, Jakarta, despite its heavy pollution and traffic problems, has a lot to offer anyone with an interest in nature, a local green group says.
“Several areas in the city are in fact transit points for birds from all over the world,” said Ady Kristanto, a member of environmental organization Jakarta Green Monster (JGM).
Muara Angke natural conservation area in North Jakarta is the best place for bird watching, the organization says, with 91 bird species to be found there.
Rambut Island in the Thousand Islands regency was also highly recommended, with at least 61 different bird species.
“They usually come during the beginning of the rainy season. During this period the mangrove trees produce fruits that serve as a food source for birds,” Ady said while taking part in the JGM water bird survey at Muara Angke on Saturday.
There were many bird watching areas within easy reach of city residents, he said.
In Central Jakarta, Ady recommended Kridaloka Park in the Senayan complex, the National Monument area and Suropati park.
In South Jakarta, he said Ragunan Zoo and Situ Babakan natural conservation area were also good.
Ady also recommended Cibubur camping ground in East Jakarta and Srengseng city forest in West
Jakarta.
“Rather than keeping birds in cages, people should take their binoculars or cameras and see them in their natural habitat. Bird watching is really an adventure,” he said.
JGM welcomes the public to join bird-watching events, with further information and schedules available on its website www.jgm.or.id.
Joining JGM events allows bird watchers to come to the Muara Angke conservation area, which is otherwise off limits to the public.
On Saturday, members including Ady and Evi Fadlia guided visitors to the area on a bird-watching tour.
“Turn off the outboard motor. I don’t want them to fly away,” Ady said while busily taking photographs of a pair of Black-winged Starlings from a rubber dinghy he rowed together with four other bird watchers.
“What a lovely couple! This species is very rare,” said Evi, who said the best time to go bird watching was in the morning and afternoon.
“At these times birds are actively looking for food,” she said.
“We may not realize how important birds are until they are not around any more. Once the bird calls that bring serenity to our hearts are gone, I believe people will miss them,” she said.
The waterbird survey, covering the Muara Angke conservation area since 2006, aims to gauge bird biodiversity in the Jakarta.
On Saturday, JGM volunteers found 206 waterbirds, down from 333 last year, with only 18 species identified, down from last year’s 23.
“Every month, JGM holds bird watching events here,” Ady said.
Those who prefer to have tours by themselves can visit Angke Kapuk natural tourism park, which is open to the public.
The park is located next to Muara Angke conservation area, and hosts similar birds species.
According to BirdLife International, Jakarta is home to at least 121 bird species. (mrs)
Putri Prameshwari, Jakarta Globe 3 Feb 10;
An cargo consignment documented as 2,200 kilograms of fresh fruits shocked even the most seasoned customs officials at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday when they discovered at least 700 snakes and over 3,400 pig-nosed turtles inside.
“The document just said ‘fresh fruits,’ ” said Gatot Sugeng Wibowo, chief of investigations at the customs office.
Gatot said the illicit cargo was being exported by a company identified only as PT IDT, located in West Jakarta, and was scheduled to be shipped to Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight on Tuesday.
Gatot did not say whether police had tracked down PT IDT’s executives. “These snakes and turtles are mostly used to make soups and sex-enhancing drugs,” he said.
Following a thorough check and seizure by the airport’s quarantine department, it was revealed that at least 25 bags contained Chinese rat snakes and six other bags contained 3,492 pig-nosed turtles. In total, the cargo was worth at least Rp 5.7 billion ($616,000).
He said that the two people in charge of the packages were being interrogated.
“They have not been named as suspects yet,” Gatot said, without elaborating.
Gatot said airport officials became suspicious after seeing two tons of fresh fruits scheduled for shipment to Hong Kong.
“According to our procedures, we have to check any unusual export activity at the airport, so we opened the packages. That’s when we found the turtles and snakes,” Gatot said. The smugglers violated a 1990 law on the conservation of natural resources and a 1992 law on animal-quarantine regulations. They could face five years in prison and fines of up to Rp 100 million ($10,800).
The pig-nosed turtles, found in Papua, are sought mostly for their eggs. Their exports are regulated in Indonesia.
In December, police arrested a man accused of smuggling 10 rare kangaroos by boat from New Guinea island.
Five of the kangaroos died and the surviving five were given to a Surabaya animal sanctuary.
Illegal trade in rare and exotic animals is rampant in Indonesia, owing to poor law enforcement and the wide range of exotic species found here.
Nivell Rayda, Jakarta Post 3 Feb 10;
Corruption was the root cause of the country’s rapid pace of deforestation, threatening to hamper the government’s effort to cut at least 26 percent of Indonesia’s carbon emissions by 2020, environment groups said at a meeting on Wednesday.
Susanto Kurniawan, the coordinator of Forest Rescue Network Riau (Jikalahari), said that there were a multitude of brokers inside the central and local forestry offices that supplied the necessary land-use permits in exchange for bribes.
“Nearly all permits issued by the Ministry of Forestry have indications of corruption. The number varies from one place to another and depends on circumstances,” Susanto told the Jakarta Globe. “Corruption occurs at almost every level, including securing permits, obtaining concessions and overlooking irregularities.”
Susanto pointed out that during the regional elections, the number of permits issued increased substantially. “The major logging companies pocketed politicians and incumbent governors or district heads by financing their campaigns. We can say that it is a form of state capture,” he said.
A study released in 2009 by New York based Human Rights Watch showed that the Indonesian government loses about $2 billion annually in unpaid taxes due to illegal logging and forest mismanagement. The group also found that about half of the country’s timber was logged illegally.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the Forestry Ministry protects the major players in illegal logging. “We found there were at least 90 cases last year where the ministry failed to sanction major companies for operating in protected forests or other restricted areas,” Walhi researcher Teguh Surya said.
“Instead of sanctioning them the ministry gave them logging permits. This would not have occurred if the ministry was serious in fighting corruption and eradicating illegal logging.”
In 2007, the Riau Police charged 200 people from 14 major logging and paper companies with illegal logging but none of the cases made it to court.
“Arrests are only for show, [to make it seem] they have done something to combat illegal logging. The seized wood is auctioned back to the major companies, often at a third of the normal price,” Susanto said. “So major players benefit from crackdowns, while the law only punishes small companies and individuals.”
But loggers are not the only party responsible for the rampant graft. Environmental group Sawit Watch said the palm oil industry was also to blame.
“The forest to plantation conversion rate reaches 400,000 hectares per year. Most of the companies have not secured a forest conversion permit, but were given a license to operate on a lend-lease basis by the local authorities,” Sawit Watch director Abet Nego told the Globe.
“On paper the areas are still considered forests, but in reality they are palm oil plantations.”
The meeting also highlighted the lack of transparency and accountability as one of the factors contributing to the problem.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has so far declared six members of the last House forestry commission as corruption suspects. The lawmakers were suspected of receiving bribe money in exchange for their backing in the conversion of protected forests in South Sumatra and the Riau Islands. Three have already been found guilty by the Anti-Corruption Court.
Michel Rose, PlanetArk 4 Feb 10;
PARIS - France said on Wednesday it would support a ban on global trade in bluefin tuna, but after an 18-month delay, bowing to pressure from the fishing lobby to hold off an immediate decision on the giant fish.
France, Italy and Spain account for half of the world's total allowable catch of bluefin tuna.
Environmentalists such as Greenpeace called the delay "absurd" and said it could lead to the extinction of the fish that is prized by sushi lovers.
"Asking for 18 months to implement this measure equates to waiting until there is no more bluefin tuna before acting," Greenpeace said in a statement. "The government is buying peace with the fishermen at a time of regional elections."
Monaco has proposed protecting bluefin tuna, which can fetch up to $100,000 in Japan, by listing it under appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
France did not expect a ban to come into effect before September 2011, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said on Wednesday, adding the CITES committee needed the results of a scientific study on stocks before taking a decision in July 2011.
"There is still powerful international lobbying from a big country, which has allies," he said, referring to Japan, where 80 percent of the catch is exported.
The European Union failed to make progress on bluefin tuna last year, with Greek Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and Maltese Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg deadlocked over how far the EU should go to protect the fish.
EU diplomats expect to see faster progress this year under newly nominated Greek Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki.
French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday that France would call on the European Commission to compensate fishermen for lost revenues should the ban be imposed.
Fishermen's representatives called the French position "incoherent" ahead of the regional elections in March.
"The government is really in a messy position," said Francois Wendling, head of a fishermen's trade association in Sete in southern France.
"If waiting for scientific studies is so important, why is the government giving a position now? This is purely political."
President Nicolas Sarkozy said last year he favoured a clear trade ban on bluefin tuna.
Asked if the government would stand by its position if fishermen decided to block ports as they did in Marseille last April, Le Maire said:
"French fishermen are reasonable people. But what makes them angry is when rules do not apply to everyone. France will ask for reinforced sanctions against countries which do not respect them (bluefin tuna fishing quotas)."
There are about 200 tuna boats in France, but only 28 are so-called "purse-seiners," 40-meter long high-tech boats which account for 90 percent of all French catch. Traditional fishing for domestic markets will remain possible, Le Maire said.
France wants tuna trade ban in 18 months: minister
Yahoo News 3 Feb 10;
PARIS (AFP) – France wants a ban on international trade in bluefin tuna to come into force in 18 months in order to protect the over-fished species, Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Wednesday.
"This is a difficult decision... but a necessary one," he told reporters.
The announcement came as the European Union has to decide whether to back calls for the lucrative but over-exploited fish -- beloved of Japanese sushi fans -- to be officially listed as an endangered species.
The French decision will weigh heavily on the final position adopted by the European Union.
Greenpeace environmental watchdog said the 18-month delay was "absurd" and akin to "waiting until there are no more bluefin tuna left" before the imposition of an international trade ban.
But a French government source said the timeframe was decided on to enable new scientific reports to be drawn up and to put the finishing touches to a plan for tuna fishing vessels aimed at reducing their catch.
France has a large bluefin fishing fleet and fishermen have urged the state to resist pressure from green groups when it decides whether to back adding bluefin to a list by CITES, the convention to protect threatened species.
The head of France's tuna fishing union, Mourad Kahoul, said Borloo's announcement had left him in a "state of shock" and that he was calling for an immediate meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Environmental groups warn that bluefin tuna face disappearance because of overfishing in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, mainly for lucrative markets in Asia, especially Japan.
The Japanese buy more than 80 percent of the tuna fished in the Mediterranean, so imposing an international trade ban would vastly reduce fishing of the species.
The European Union needs to come up with a common position on a ban ahead of a meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, in March in Doha, Qatar.
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