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Some members of the great white shark's family are on the Cites list under review for protection

Bern / Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland has agreed to back demands for a ban on bluefin tuna, a favourite of sushi diners, when Geneva-based Cites meets  in Doha, Qatar, 13-25 March. Cites is the inter-government Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and 175 governments will be sending representatives to the triennial meeting.

The main theme is marine for 2010, but several other issues, including better protection for elephants and rhinos, are on the agenda. Cites now protects some 30,000 species. The Convention came into being in 1975 and the number of species under its protection has steadily grown, a sign of its work but also that biodiversity is suffering, its web sites notes: 2010 is the international year of biodiversity.

Bern will back requests for bans on fishing other species, but notes that the popular tuna’s population is particularly worrisome. The biomass has shrunk dramatically, from 200,000 tons in 1997 to 80,000 tons in 2007.

The Federal Veterinary Office’s blog will follow the conference live from Doha.