Dr. Russell Nelson Tuesday 11/23: Bluefin tuna and Greenpeace - Sunday was an off day for ICCAT delegates but marked the beginning of the merry pranks by the youthful activists from Greenpeace. An auto mounted with a life size bluefin tuna an commanded by the misguided greenies followed for three hours a bus taking some delegates on a tour of Paris. With siren blaring, horn honking and a loudspeaker deployed and demanding freedom for the bluefin they dodged in and out of Paris traffic in an attempt to … well … to do what?
When the bus stopped for lunch a battalion of 8 stormed out of the alley and began covering the sides and windows of the tour bus with 2 by three foot posters carrying the same message. When politely confronted with the argument that there were many on the bus who were seriously working to get greater protections for the fish and the suggestion that covering the window through which they were hoping to catch a glimpse of Paris might be…. perhaps …. counter productive … the stupefied green warriors reacted with all the logical conviction of a beer blasted fraternity nut bent on papering the house of the Dean. Oh yeah the games began.
During the first meaningful discussions of new management measures for bluefin on Monday Libya came out of left field to offer the motion that a two year moratorium be put in place for both east and west Atlantic bluefin. As member nations tiptoed around this idea and spent two hours offering platitudes of homage to the science and the need for real conservation the head delegate from Libya demanded a vote by the panel – an ICCAT first. After another half hour of arguing whether such an action was permissible (it was ruled the ICCAT Chair) the delegates were left with no cover and proceeded to a 11-5 (4 abstentions) vote against the idea. The meeting adjourned for another attempt at seeing the sites of the city of lights – this time from the Seine….. (more to come)
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