New grids on the block

A ban — requiring a two-thirds majority — would take effect 90 days later, ending the annual summer bluefi n hunt. " Banning international trade in the imperilled Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefi n tuna is the only possible course of action — this is our last chance to save this over-exploited species, " said Heike Vesper, fi sheries offi cer at WWF Germany. " It's fantastic the UK is taking such a strong stance on bluefi n by backing the listing on Cites, " says William MacKenzie, Greenpeace's ocean campaigner. " Bluefi n tuna are the blue whales of our time, and have been relentlessly over-exploited for far too long. " " Bluefi n tuna are the blue whales of our time, and have been relentlessly over-exploited for far too long. " " This iconic species has long disappeared from UK waters and we need to ensure the same does not happen in the Mediterranean, " says Sally Bailey, marine programme manager at WWF. Many consumers, in Western countries at least, are also becoming increasingly concerned about the unsustainable exploitation of fi sh stocks. While many supermarkets are now committed to selling fi sh that has been endorsed as sustainable by an outside agency such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), many restaurants have been slower to react. The Japanese fi sh restaurant chain Nobu has come under attack for continuing to serve bluefi n tuna. Britain's fi sheries minister has joined a number of British activists, writers, actors and artists in boycotting the restaurant. Nobu has now added symbols advising diners in London that the fi sh is 'environmentally challenged' and asking diners to request an alternative. But it has so far resisted pressure to stop selling the fi sh. Raymond Blanc, owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, near Oxford, announced last month that it would stop serving endangered species of fi sh and only offer seafood endorsed by the MSC. It is the fi rst restaurant of this rank to announce such a policy. Blanc called for other restaurateurs to follow his lead, adding: " By supporting MSC, I am ensuring that, as a chef, I am helping to ensure that fi sh stocks will be replenished for generations to come. " And one recent success story is that of the California black cod fi shery, which has undergone a radical environmental overhaul. Much of …