jeudi 11 novembre 2010

Jour 1280

A la française

The Independent, 11 novembre 2010 :

"Europe's eel populations face being wiped out because France has refused to accept a continent-wide complete ban on the export of glass eels. European countries are trying to hammer out a deal to allow eel populations to recover – eel numbers have declined by more than 90 per cent in the past 20 years.[...] But demand from China for glass eels has pushed up prices to more than €1,000 (£850) a kilo – similar to cheap caviar – providing fisheries with a major incentive to continue trawling. Last year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species called on trade in European eels to be controlled. The EU's Scientific Review Group has recommended a complete ban on exports this winter. But at a meeting in Brussels, France – Europe's largest eel exporter – refused to sign up to a ban. [...] Peter Wood, managing director of UK Glass Eels, accused the French of behaving selfishly and of feeding off the sacrifices of other nations. "They do seem very keen in France to continue to export everything to Asia, and that seems to me a huge loss of a valuable resource," he said. "They've got this idea that they have this resource of glass eels and it is theirs to do with as they see fit. But it's a collective resource."