VOA标准英语2010年-US Will Support Ban On International T

The US announced on Wednesday that it will support a ban on  the international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna.  The announcement comes prior to this month's meeting in Qatar of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna¹ and Flora² (CITES). 

Atlantic bluefin tuna is being overfished and there are fears it could become extinct. 

Repeated attempts to allow the species to recover have failed under the pressure to supply a market willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a single fish.

 

Later this month, a proposal to ban the international trade of bluefin tuna will be debated by almost 200 countries that signed the UN convention on endangered species.
 
Rebecca Lent is in charge of International Affairs at NOAA Fisheries, the US government agency responsible for protecting the country's marine³ resources. "There were bluefin tuna in the good old days in Brazil but those stocks were fished out and they are gone," she said. "So it's primarily a north Atlantic species now."

The proposal would declare bluefin tuna so endangered that a ban on international trade in the fish is required.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been sounding the alarm on bluefin tuna for decades.  "Since the 1970s, the western section of the stock, which is the US portion, has declined 82 percent," Roberta Elias, with WWF explained. "So there is only something like 41,000 adults remaining in that population. Some believe that population is stable in contrast to the eastern portion of the stock which is continuing to decline at probably lower population levels."

Bluefin tuna is highly popular in Japan, where much of it goes for sushi and sashimi.  Japan consumes some 80 percent of all bluefin tuna. It opposes the ban.
 
"We're trying our best to avoid having a ban enacted," Hirotaka Akamatsu, Japan's Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries said. Japan says it is urging European countries that export bluefin tuna to also oppose a ban.

Warm blooded bluefin tuna can live up to 20 years. Scientists hope the ban would allow bluefin to recover. But while international trade could be outlawed⁴, officials say a robust⁵ black market could survive. To deal with the shortage, Japan has bluefin tuna farms.

But there's a reason such farms are not more widespread, Lent said. "These fish are voracious⁶ eaters. In order for it to be economically profitable we are going to have to find some way to get cheaper food for fish.  The best way to deal with bluefin tuna fisheries really is to manage it well in the wild."

In addition to bluefin tuna, measures to protect sharks and coral will also be debated at the upcoming conference in Qatar.
 

1 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

2 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 voracious   

adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
• Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。