A bluefin tuna marked for auction.

A bluefin tuna auction. Conservationists are fighting hard to have the trade of the popular fish banned. (Photo: T. Engoe)

Scientists support Atlantic bluefin tuna trade ban

WORLDWIDE
Friday, October 30, 2009, 15:10 (GMT + 9)

Banning the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna is necessary if diminishing stocks are to be preserved, concluded scientists from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The band of scientists estimate that stocks may have decreased to less than 15 per cent of their original size and thus meet the criteria for a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I listing.

The scientists said commercial fishing must stop if the species is to no longer meet the criteria for the list by 2019, reports WWF International.

Monaco's recent proposal to ban the international trade of Atlantic bluefin prompted the study.

ICCAT has tended to set quotas higher than what scientists have recommended.  

“The extent of the failure by ICCAT members to act responsibly and preserve our marine environment can no longer be ignored,” said Sebastian Losada, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace International.  “Atlantic bluefin tuna has been subject to decades of massive overfishing and overexploitation and time is running out to save this species” 

The body charged with regulating catches of the related species southern bluefin has approved a worldwide 20 per cent quota cut. However, according to some estimates, illegal fishing adds 30 per cent to the official quota.

Last year, an independent report said that ICCAT's management of tuna was a "disgrace" for disregarding scientific advice and allowing illegal fishing. The report recommended a temporary fishing ban of the Mediterranean fishery, where most bluefin are caught.

Commission delegates will decide whether to place new restrictions on catches at an approaching meeting on 6-16 November in Brazil.

The next CITES Conference will be held in March 2010. The World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace are requesting that the 175 CITES member countries vote in favour of the Atlantic bluefin tuna Appendix I listing.

Related articles:

- No consensus for global tuna trade veto
- Decision on bluefish tuna ban delayed

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

ICCAT -The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas- The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the management and conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. The organization was established in 1969, at a conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and operates in English, French and Spanish Address: Calle Corazón de María, 8, Sixth Floor(28002 ) City: Madrid State: Madrid Country: Spain Telephone: +34 91 416 5600 Fax: +34 91 415 2612 Homepage: http://www.iccat.int/en/

Position announcement ICCAT Bluefin research program (GBYP) Coordinator

ICCAT Scientists met in Madrid on October 21-23, 2009 to develop scientific advice for the ICCAT Commissioners on the condition of Atlantic bluefin tuna with respect to the biological criteria applied for listing commercially-exploited aquatic species under CITES Appendices. It has come to our attention that several organizations are disseminating partial interpretations of the report of the scientific meeting. We highly recommend that persons interested in a complete understanding of the scientific advice developed during the meeting view the entire report (available here).

2009 SCRS meeting report

Newsletter ICCAT Newsletter Nº 10.September 2009.
English - Français - Español

Iccat CALL FOR TENDERS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ICCAT REGIONAL OBSERVER PROGRAMME FOR EASTERN ATLANTIC AND MEDITERRANEAN BLUEFIN TUNA (ROP-BFT)
  Stat Bulletin 38. July 2009 (Pdf file, 6986 Kb)
  ICCAT Web page We are improving our web page.
In case of any incidence, please let us know by email to:info@iccat.int

How to Become an Iccat Member

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO BECOME AN ICCAT MEMBER

Capacity Building

ASSISTANCE FUND - PART VII OF UN AGREEMENT
English - Français - Español

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas was disappointed in the States that failed to support the temporary prohibition. (Photo: EC)

No consensus for global tuna trade veto

EUROPEAN UNION
Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 15:40 (GMT + 9)

The 27 Member-states of the European Union (EU) were unable to reach an agreement and support Monaco’s proposal to temporarily veto the international bluefin tuna trade, despite the European Commission (EC) previously mentioning the possibility of sponsoring this initiative provisionally while the results of new scientific studies were expected to be released on the state of the species.

After hearing the news, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas was disappointed at the States failing to support the temporary ban and expressed “deep concern” over the state of bluefin tuna.

Spain, for example, did not want to support the temporary ban for the time being, preferring instead to wait for scientific data set to be published in October by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), diplomatic sources explained.

“If there is scientific data that proves it necessary in the ICCAT meeting, then the EC will propose that alternatives or other restrictions on bluefin tuna fishing be studied in the CITES agreement,” they added.

Even so, Dimas recalled that countries will still have the possibility of reviewing their position before the definitive decision is taken on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora , in March 2010.

Meanwhile, Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said, now “more than ever” the ICCAT must “assume its responsibilities to assure that the existence of this fish recovers.”

Still, it remains to be seen whether or not the Principality of Monaco “follows ahead” with its proposal, in which case Community countries “will be forced” to vote again on this issue, Europa Press reports.

The bluefin tuna is mainly targeted in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and has great commercial value in such markets as the Japanese.

Environmental organisations Oceana and Marviva lashed out at the irresponsibility of EU Member-states in withholding support for Monaco’s proposal to include the bluefin tuna in Appendix 1 of CITES.

The executive director of Oceana Europe, Xavier Pastor, declared: “It is lamentable that EU countries, those partly responsible for the disappearance of the bluefin tuna, remain obstinate in defending the interests of the industry in the short-term, without realising they are arriving at a point of no return.”

Related articles:

- Europe against bluefin tuna fishing ban: EU source
- Decision on bluefish tuna ban delayed
- EU firms up bluefin tuna fishing ban support

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

A Spanish tuna fishing purse seiner. All countries around the Mediterranean came out against the ban. (Photo: Tuna Seiners)

Europe against bluefin tuna fishing ban: EU source

EUROPEAN UNION
Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

European Commission (EC) plans to bring about a temporary worldwide ban on bluefish tuna fishing were voted down on Monday, a European Union (EU) source said.

"All the countries around the Mediterranean came out against" any ban on trade in the fish, prized by Japanese sushi lovers, said the source.

Supporters of a bid launched by Monaco want to see the fish placed on a United Nations (UN)-produced list of the world's most endangered species.

But while the Commission provisionally backed a temporary ban earlier this month, opponents preferred to wait for the latest evaluation of levels of stocks by scientists due next month.

Results will be analysed at a meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in November.

According to a proposal put to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the UN agency against illegal wildlife trade, tuna stocks are so fragile that the species should be classified as being under threat of extinction.

Some 80 per cent of Atlantic bluefin tuna fished out of the Mediterranean ends up in the Japanese market.

Under the EU's qualified majority voting system, comfortably more than half of all votes, weighted according to countries' size, are required for issues to pass.

A fishermen's association grouping fleets from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain had termed the plans "nonsense."

AFP

Related articles:

- EU to back temporary bluefin tuna fishing ban: source
- EU considering bluefin tuna protection: spokeswoman

A Spanish tuna fishing purse seiner. (Photo: Tuna Seiners)

Decision on bluefish tuna ban delayed

SPAIN
Thursday, September 10, 2009, 23:10 (GMT + 9)

Spain's socialist government said Thursday it plans to wait for the results of a scientific study this year before deciding whether to back a temporary worldwide ban on bluefish tuna fishing.

The European Union (EU) on Wednesday gave its provisional backing for such a ban, which would throw the huge market for Japanese sushi into turmoil.

Spain's ministry of agriculture noted that a scientific study on the issue is be released next month, and the results will be analysed at a meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in November.

The ministry recommended waiting for the study "before adopting other conservation measures."

According to a proposal put to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the United Nations (UN) agency against illegal wildlife trade, tuna stocks are so fragile that the species should be classified as being under threat of extinction.

Some 80 per cent of Atlantic bluefin tuna fished out of the Mediterranean ends up in the Japanese market.

Spain, home to Europe's largest fishing fleet, has around 200 vessels that catch bluefin tuna, according to the ministry of agriculture.

AFP

Related articles:

- EU to back temporary bluefin tuna fishing ban: source
- Britain and France call for global bluefin tuna ban
- Proposed tuna trade ban would burden Japan

Its a very sad situation, not only the bluefin but also the red tuna are over fished beyond extinctions, and perhaps some of the others too. But the Japanese, the main culprits because of their numerous consumptions, won't quit easily this habit. If no viable alternative is found there is very little that can be done just look what happened with the overfishing of whales. Almost the whole world obeys the rules, but Japan always find a loophole to escape, and keep on with fishing.

Tuna auction in Japan. (Photo: Akihiro)

Proposed tuna trade ban would burden Japan

JAPAN
Thursday, August 13, 2009, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

Japan is anxiously monitoring the progress of the proposed international trade ban of bluefin tuna that is already backed by Monaco, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and France. Eighty per cent of all global bluefin tuna catches are consumed in Japan.

The proposal will be discussed in greater depth at the March 2010 meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Doha, Qatar. In the meantime, the US is considering whether to support the ban.

If the ban goes through, bluefin tuna would go under the protection of CITES, which restricts the trade of species in danger of extinction. These are noted on the convention’s Appendix 1 list, or the Washington Convention, to which bluefin tuna would be added, The Asahi Shimbun reports.

Almost half of the bluefin tuna consumed in Japan is caught in the Atlantic Ocean or the Mediterranean. If the trade ban proposal is approved by a majority vote of two-thirds at the next CITES meeting, the international trade of this fish will be banned completely.

This move, in turn, would make the price of the shortened supply of bluefin tuna in Japan soar. The country currently consumes around 20,000 tonnes of the fish every year.

Administrative Vice Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Michio Ide has expressed his disapproval of the CITES proposal. Fisheries management organisations should be in charge of managing fish stocks, he said.

Because Monaco, who proposed the ban in July, does not fish for tuna, some believe the country is pushing for the trade ban as a consequence of lobbying efforts from environmental organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace. Indeed, several environmental groups have been warning that bluefin tuna stocks will collapse as early as 2010 if the overfishing of the dramatically dwindling stocks does not halt.

A move to half the yearly quota of bluefin tuna from 32,000 tonnes in 2007 to 15,000 tonnes or fewer was called for by a research panel for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) last November.

Because Spain and France both opposed the measure last year, though, the Commission lowered the quota to 19,950 tonnes for 2010 and 18,500 tonnes for 2011. The WWF and other environmental organisations heavily criticised the decision.

Related articles:

- Monaco seeks global bluefin tuna trade ban
- Britain and France call for global bluefin tuna ban
- Fate of bluefin tuna in EU’s hands, warns Greenpeace

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com 

European Commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein. (Photo: EC)

EU considering bluefin tuna protection: spokeswoman

EUROPEAN UNION
Monday, August 24, 2009, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

The European Union (EU) will decide in the autumn whether to add bluefin tuna to a list of threatened species, a move that would mean a temporary ban on its sale on world markets, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

"An EU position will be established this autumn, in line with the normal process for the preparation of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) meeting," said the European Commission (EC) spokeswoman, Katharina von Schnurbein.

She confirmed the existence of an internal document prepared by the commission which recommends putting bluefin tuna on the list of threatened species. The draft document, which will form the basis of discussions between the 27 EU member nations, was revealed Saturday by the Financial Times.

"From a scientific and technical point of view, the criteria for the listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna (as an endangered species) appear to be met," the newspaper cited the document as saying.

"There is no doubt about the link between international trade and over-exploitation of the species."

However, the commission -- which oversees fisheries policy in the 27-nation European Union -- stipulated that any decision on a ban would not be made before the end of the 2010 fishing season.

A common position will nevertheless be difficult to find with some fishing nations such as Spain, Italy and Malta remaining lukewarm to the idea of a ban, the newspaper said.

"The commission has taken note of the individual positions expressed by some member states supporting the listing of bluefin tuna under the CITES convention," Von Schnurbein said.

"However it is clear that internal coordination is still to come on this issue."

She said the European Commission would be working with all member states "towards the establishment of a common EU position" before the CITES meeting in March 2010.

At the moment bluefin tuna has no protection under CITES, the only global body with the power to limit or ban international trade in endangered species.

If bluefin tuna are given protected status at the meeting in Qatar next March the sale of the fish on international markets would be banned although it could still be sold locally.

Such a measure would eliminate the main cause of over-fishing: the strong demand for the delicacy as sushi and sashimi in countries such as Japan and the United States.

France, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands have said they would support a ban.  

AFP

Related articles:

- Monaco seeks global bluefin tuna trade ban
- Britain and France call for global bluefin tuna ban
- Proposed tuna trade ban would burden Japan

The UK has joined in the call for an international ban on trade of the overfished bluefin tuna. (Photo: Stock File)

Britain and France call for global bluefin tuna ban

UNITED KINGDOM
Monday, July 20, 2009, 16:50 (GMT + 9)

Britain and France are calling for a ban on international trade of the severely endangered bluefin tuna.

Although France owns a large bluefin tuna fishing fleet, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced last week that his country would support this plan at the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). UK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies is also committed to supporting the initiative.

"Ours is the last generation with the ability to take action before it's too late – we must protect marine resources now, in order to fish better in the future,” Sarkozy said, Environment News Service reports. “We owe this to fishermen, and we owe it to future generations."

The first to communicate wishes to encourage the international ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna was the Principality of Monaco. The sovereign city-state launched a formal CITES consultation process earlier last week in hopes of gaining the support of other range States.

Awareness about the dire fate of bluefin tuna has reached the masses through the documentary film “The End of the Line.” The film has been causing a stir since its release earlier this year.
 
“The Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery is collapsing and, unless we take immediate action, the breeding population will disappear by 2010,” said World Wildlife Fund UK (WWF-UK) Marine Programme Manager Sally Bailey.

“We’re urging the government to encourage other countries to follow this lead and ban international trade. It’s our last chance to save this iconic species,” she added.

Bluefin tuna stocks have been fading dramatically due to activities such as excessive quota violations, illegal spotting planes to chase tuna, under-reporting of catch, pirate fishing, fishing during the closed season, management measures that ignore scientific advice and the massive overcapacity of fleets.

“If the world doesn’t put the brakes on its voracious appetite now, an amazing species – and fishery – could be lost forever,” said Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF-Mediterranean.

It is expected that the ban will cause conflict between Britain and Japan. The latter country prizes bluefin tuna as a popular product that fetches high prices.

"I can confirm that the UK will support a CITES listing of bluefin tuna,” Irranca-Davies said.

"We do think this is not a substitute for ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) and the work it does, but we are pleased to give the proposal for CITES our strong support. We hope that others will come on board as well."

Related articles:

- Govt flaunts bluefin tuna rules, sets own limits
- Breeding bluefin stocks at dire risk in the Mediterranean: WWF
- Film prompts retailers to go for sustainable tuna

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Mediterranean tuna breeders will disappear in 3 years at current fishing rates, claims the WWF report. (Photo: WWF-Canon/Ezequiel NAVIO)

Breeding bluefin stocks at dire risk in the Mediterranean: WWF

EUROPEAN UNION
Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 21:30 (GMT + 9)

The adult breeding stocks of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna will disappear by 2012 if little is done to dramatically alter the current fishing regime, conservation group WWF warned this week just ahead of the Wednesday start to the two-month Mediterranean fishing season.

An analysis undertaken by the group has found that the number of spawning bluefin tuna - those aged four years or older with a minimum weight of 35kg - has fallen steeply for the past decade and will be wiped out entirely in 3 years at current rates. In 2007 the proportion of breeding tuna was only a quarter of the levels of 50 years ago, with most of the decline happening in recent years.

"For years people have been asking when the collapse of this fishery will happen, and now we have the answer," said Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

Japanese demand for the tuna has driven a decade-long expansion of the Mediterranean fleet, which has relied on illegal spotter planes to find and track schools of the lucrative tuna.

"Mediterranean (Atlantic) bluefin tuna is collapsing as we speak and yet the fishery will kick off again tomorrow for business as usual. It is absurd and inexcusable to open a fishing season when stocks of the target species are collapsing," added Tudela.

Atlantic bluefin tuna, East stock. Stock assessment 2008 data on recent decline of the population (solid blue line); dashed red line on forecasted trajectory of the population estimated by WWF. (Source: SCRS ICCAT/WWF)

In November, EU member states participating at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) meeting encouraged setting bluefin quotas at a level 47 per cent higher than had been recommended by scientists.

However, the illegal poaching stigma attached to the tuna as well as its threatened status have prompted growing numbers of restaurants and retailers, including Carrefour Italy, to boycott it.

An analysis of the official data undertaken by the WWF has found that the average size of mature tunas has more than halved since the 1990s. The average size of tuna caught off the coast of Libya, for example, has dropped from 124kg in 2001 to only 65kg last year.

Giant tunas are able to produce many more offspring than medium-sized individuals; their lack has had a disproportionately high impact on stocks.

Only a halt to bluefin tuna fishing in May and June as stocks migrate through the Straits of Gibraltar to spawn in the Mediterranean may allow the species to recover,WWF and other campaign groups claim.

Environmentalists have been garnering support to have the species listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) when contracting parties meet in early 2010. A succesful addition to the list would signify a suspension in the international trade of the threatened tuna.

Related articles:

- Bluefin Tuna Recovery Plan approved
- New markets to be tapped as Japan’s taste for tuna drops
- EC pleased with new ICCAT cuts

By Denise Recalde
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Juvenile bluefin tuna below the minimum landing size on the deck of the Turkish fishing vessel theYasar Reis II. (Photo: Greenpeace /RC)

Govt flaunts bluefin tuna rules, sets own limits

TURKEY
Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 00:20 (GMT + 9)

Turkish officials have announced the domestic fleet will be allowed to target all the bluefin tuna it can before stocks are depleted - a move that flies in the face of international convention and a current bluefin tuna fishing management plan, a leading environmentalist organisation claims. Turkey owns the biggest tuna fishing fleet in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean tuna industry has levied enough pressure on politicians to allow for the legal overfishing of a species that could go extinct within the next few years, Greenpeace stated in a recent press release. With the bluefin tuna fishing season just begun, Turkey has already been found guilty of illegal tuna fishing - between 5 and 10 tonnes of juvenile bluefin tuna have already been discovered at the Karaburun port.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an intergovernmental organisation that includes the European Union (EU) as an active member. In response to scientists’ warnings on the precarious situation of the tuna species, first announced in 2006, ICCAT has lowered catch limits.

The organisation dubbed tuna management in the Mediterranean “as an international disgrace” in September 2008. When ICCAT set the new quota in November, the Turkish government chose to set its own.

Minimum legal landing size for tuna is 30kg, a rule meant to give tuna time for one or more reproduction cycles before being caught. However, both Italian and Turkish media are reporting domestic catches that disregard this ICCAT regulation.

Scientists have urged to have limits capped at 15,000 tonnes and to protect spawning areas this month and the next so as to allow the species to recover.

Industrial fleets fished an illegal 61,000 tonnes of tuna from areas including spawning grounds in 2007, Greenpeace stated.

The 2009 ICCAT recovery plan allows bluefin fishing to take place at 47 per cent over the maximum sustainable limit. Greenpeace believes a long-term solution to protect bluefin tuna and other species’ stocks will require a lot more - only a network of no-take marine reserves to shield 40 per cent of the oceans from overfishing would let current stocks recover, it believes.

Since 2006, Greenpeace has been blowing the whistle on illegal fishing in the Mediterranean throughout the entire year, including during closed seasons. Documented illegal cases include fishing undersized tuna, reflagging vessels, the use of spotter planes, unlicensed vessels and tuna farms, unregulated transhipments, landings and false declarations, significant unreported over-catches and a higher fleet capacity.

Related articles:

- EU cuts Mediterranean tuna fishing to protect stocks
- Turkey signs fisheries-aquaculture accord
- Tuna laundering inquiry continues, says EU commissioner

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  Greenpeace International -Headquarter - Netherlands

The global recession has markedly affected Japanese demand for bluefin tuna, which is cause for worry among tuna fishers in Cadiz. (Photo: Akihiro)

New markets to be tapped as Japan’s taste for tuna drops

SPAIN
Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 23:40 (GMT + 9)

The four trap net fisheries of the Gulf of Cadiz - Barbate, Tarifa, Conil and Zahara – have seen better times, as the downturn in recent weeks in Japanese market demand for bluefin tuna continues, announced the Cadiz Seafood Producers’ Organisation.

Talks held to fix the value and volume of this season’s tuna catches “continue and have not yet yielded a final or set price,” indicated the Organisation’s spokeswoman, Marta Crespo.

In Spain, each trap net fishery has the freedom to negotiate with foreign firms set on acquiring bluefin tuna from Barbate.

Japan is the main destination for 90 per cent of the tuna catch, which exceeded 1,200 tonnes in 2008. Demand for the prized tuna this year by the Asian country has fallen as a result of the international economic crisis.

Tuna being caught by trap net fishers off the Spanish coast. (Photo: Stock File)

"Restaurants need less tuna and as a result distributor firms keep their freezers even less full and retain reserves just enough to fill orders,” Crespo explained.

The Spanish canned and smoked products industry just about absorbs 10 per cent of the tuna captured by Cadiz-based trap net vessels, owing to fact that its high price makes processing barely profitable.

Some of the trap net fishers in Cadiz anticipate suspending talks with importer companies that have been buying up more than half the tunas harvested thus far, La Voz de Galicia reports.

In this uncertain panorama, the trap net fishers are turning to new business alternatives, such as opening up markets that until now had been secondary, like the US, the Republic of Korea, France and England.

Meanwhile, preparations for the 2009 trap net season are underway. The tuna fishery is expected to continue through June, that is, four months.

The sector hopes its catches find a “dignified [end for fishers] with reasonable prices.”

In 2008, Japanese executives paid some EUR 12 - EUR 13 per kilo for bluefin tuna, an “acceptable [price] for trap net fishers,” the supervising body indicated.

The trap net fishers explained: “Tuna that is not exported does not have an easy entry into the national market, as no one is willing to pay the prices” usually paid by Japanese companies.

Moreover, fishers complain they are fishing less every year, which makes their activity less and less profitable.

This year, trap net vessels were able to fish a maximum of 1,088 tonnes of bluefin tuna - 16 per cent less than in 2008 - in line with the international quotas established for the tunid species.

In the meantime, the Secretariat of the Sea is looking to guarantee that all bluefin tuna consumed in Spain comes from responsible and sustainable fishing. Bluefin tuna vessels or trap nets should be required to carry point-of-origin certification labels on each specimen or through a catch declaration that ensures its legality.

Related article:

- Next up for bluefin tuna: labelling

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Director General Fernando Curcio called for comprehensive bluefin tuna certified labelling. (Photo: MARM)

Next up for bluefin tuna: labelling

SPAIN
Wednesday, March 04, 2009, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

The Secretariat of the Sea is looking to guarantee that all bluefin tuna consumed in Spain comes from responsible and sustainable fishing.

Bluefin tuna vessels or trap nets should be required to carry point-of-origin certification labels on each specimen or through a catch declaration that ensures its legality, it declared.

The control measure should be applied at all points of the production process, from harvesting the resource to the final consumer.

The announcement was made by the Director General of Fishing Resources and Aquaculture of the General Secretariat of the Sea, Fernando Curcio, during a round of talks held on Tuesday in Madrid on improving and reinforcing bluefin tuna controls.

The talks aim to “make the entire chain transparent,” including production, fattening, marketing, distribution and consumption, Curcio explained.

The Spanish government believes it vital that all the links in the chain commit to complying with the control system implemented for transparency purposes, he highlighted.

"We believe in controlled and sustainable fishing, provided that other countries follow suit,” Curcio said.

During the talks, the ambassadors of other Mediterranean countries and the European Union (EU):

• Highlighted the importance of correctly applying regulatory controls to avoid the entry of fraudulently harvested bluefin tuna into the Spanish market and so avoid the export of any illegally caught specimens;
• Requested that the EU and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) urge other contracting parties to implant a control system that ensures equality among all the fleets and guarantees bluefin tuna stock recovery;
• Demanded that the different strata of the commercial control chain (central, autonomous and local administration) comply with the obligations set forth in the Tuna Catch Document (DCA) and with specific labelling requirements for the entire production and marketing chain.
• Called for both the expansion of traceability systems that guarantee that all the bluefin tuna consumed in Spain originate from responsible fishing, as well as propose the implementation of a promotional campaign through the Regulation and Organisation Fund of the Fisheries and Marine Farming Products Market (FROM) that favours the disclosure of bluefin tuna catch and commercialisation conditions, through disclosed actions that affect all the agents and commercial operators so as to ensure the resource consumed originates from sustainable fishing;
• Called on the EU and the ICCAT to work intensely to reduce the fishing and fattening effort in all countries that target bluefin tuna to properly reflect their quotas, just as responsibly as the Spanish fleet and its fattening sector have done;
• Called on all ICCAT contracting parties to furnish all the information necessary so that the Compliance Committee and the Scientific Committee can develop their work and elaborate the best scientific data for the correct management of the fishery.

Late last month, the European Commission (EC) proposed a bluefin tuna fishery management plan that features changes accorded with the ICCAT, among which there is a call for a 30 per cent reduction in the Community’s fishing quota within two years.

Related article:

- EC lobbies revised bluefin tuna recovery plan

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

A European tuna purse seiner. Both France and Italy oppose the decision to end the bluefin tuna season early this year. (Photo: Stock File)

EU cuts Mediterranean tuna fishing to protect stocks

EUROPEAN UNION
Thursday, April 16, 2009, 03:30 (GMT + 9)

The Mediterranean tuna fishing season will be 15 days shorter this year with quotas and fleets also cut, European Union (EU) sources said Wednesday. However, environmentalists complain it is too little, too late.

The bluefin fishing season begins officially on Thursday and will end on 15 June, two weeks earlier than the scheduled 2008 season.

At the same time the European Commission (EC) has reduced allowed quotas by 27 per cent overall. It has also negotiated a cut in fishing capacity for the industrial fishing 'purse seiners' which use huge cylindrical nets to scoop up their catch.

Last year's season was cut short when in mid-June the EC ordered a halt to industrial fishing of bluefin tuna two weeks early because quotas for 2008 had already been reached.

Both France and Italy opposed that decision, questioning the Commission's figures and saying that their fishing industries had not reached even half their quotas.

The biggest fishing fleet reductions have been agreed by the biggest tuna fishing nations in the EU, with Italy scrapping 19 boats to leave a total of 68 and France getting rid of eight to leave a fleet of 36 purse seiners.

Of the other EU members only Spain and Malta retain smaller tuna fleets, which will remain unchanged, while Greece has recently scrapped the last of its tuna ships.

The EU has also decided to freeze the capacity of tuna farms, mainly in Malta, and to boost inspections at sea to avoid the kind of fraud whereby fishing ships sell their tuna to the farms before coming into port.

"It's the last chance" to avoid the end of Mediterranean bluefin tuna, which has been heavily overfished in the past, an EU official said.

However he estimated that "scrapping another 10 vessels would help to eliminate overfishing."

The lobby group Oceana saw the problem as much more serious, calling for "the immediate closure of the fishery, as stocks are condemned to collapse even if the fleet complies with 100 per cent of the agreed quotas and management measures."

"Over-exploitation, illegal fishing and the irresponsibility of the member states that reap the benefits from this fishery have taken this species to the brink of commercial collapse," said Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana in Europe.

"Under the leadership of the EU, a new recovery plan has been implemented in 2009 that once again ignores scientific recommendations," he added.

AFP

Related articles:

- Breeding bluefin stocks at dire risk in the Mediterranean: WWF
- Bluefin Tuna Recovery Plan approved
- EU Parliament approves bluefin tuna recovery plan
- Ecologists boycott bluefin tuna debate

Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg sought clarification on 5,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna(shipped to Japan from Malta (Photo: EC)

Tuna laundering inquiry continues, says EU commissioner

MALTA
Friday, January 16, 2009, 20:40 (GMT + 9)

The European Commission (EC) has requested clarification on Malta’s claim to have "re-exported" around 5,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna to Japan last year, confirmed the European Commissioner for Fisheries Joe Borg.

The Commissioner suggested that the "re-exports" should possibly have been classified as goods in transit.

Officially, Malta claims to have exported 11,900 tonnes of the severely endangered bluefin tuna to Japan in 2007-08, reports Malta Today.

Of this amount, 6,700 tonnes of bluefin were locally obtained. However, the remaining 5,000 tonnes - worth an estimated EUR 100 million - were transshipped from other countries such as Italy, France, Libya, and Morocco.

Yet all 11,900 tonnes of tuna are listed in Japan as having originated in Malta.

The issue is whether these 5,000 tonnes should have been registered as transshipments, or whether they can legitimately be called Maltese exports.

"As regards the re-export figure, it is possible that the 5,000-tonne figure includes fish which would be defined from a customs standpoint as being 'in transit,' and which would therefore not qualify as being re-exported in customs records," said a spokesperson for Borg. "The Commission is currently seeking to clarify this question with the Maltese authorities."

Borg’s announcement contradicts a report made by TVM News in late December that the EC had dismissed the issue of Malta’s 2007-08 tuna exports. The report claimed that Borg had reviewed the data and saw nothing wrong with Malta’s statistics.

According to Borg’s spokesperson, the Commissioner’s earlier comments applied only to the tuna exports that carried over from 2007 to 2008, and had nothing to do with the "re-exports" to Japan.

"The Commissioner made it clear when questioned by PBS [News] that any judgment he was able to form on the carry-over figures was preliminary, and concerned only the general order of the total volume involved," said the spokesperson.

The EC has also requested clarification about other "re-export" shipments, in particular 1,000 tonnes of tuna that originated from Libya and Turkey in early 2008.

The tuna from Turkey is significant because at the end of 2007 Turkey had already filled over 95 per cent of its quota, and could not legally have supplied 1,000 tonnes to Malta.

Related articles:

- EC awaits official reply on bluefin tuna allegations
- Fisheries ministry accused of tuna laundering scheme

By E. Fiske
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Attending the MARM-organised meeting would constitute a tacit approval for the 'disastrous' tuna plan, environmentalists believe. (Photo: StockFile)

Ecologists boycott bluefin tuna debate

SPAIN
Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

Non-governmental organisations Greenpeace, Ecologists in Action and the WWF/Adena are refusing to attend a Wednesday meeting put together by the General Directorate of Fisheries Resources of the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Maritime Affairs (MARM).

The meeting was arranged by the Ministry to debate and discuss the application of bluefin tuna fishing regulations in Spain for the year ahead.

The Spanish government's current management plan “does not take scientific recommendations into account” and effectively condemns the fishery “to collapse,” argued the NGOs in explaining their refusal.

Last November in Morocco, with Spanish support, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) approved a plan to protect the overfished species.

The plan set a bluefin tuna quota of 22,500 tonnes for 2009.

Environmentalists, however, claim this represents “50 per cent more than the maximum harvestable quantity scientists advise most optimistically to avoid the collapse of the population.”

The NGOs claim the governmental plan does not solve the “major problem of the fishery” and "the highly elevated number of industrial purse seine vessels” targeting their capture.

If the number of industrial purse seiner vessels dedicated to fishing bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean sea continues, “it is certain that they will again capture thousands of tonnes ilegally,” Greenpeace spokesman Sebastian Sarasola said.

"Our presence is not needed to debate the application of a disastrous plan that fails to comply with the government’s obligations to rationally conserve marine resources,” he emphasised.

Jorge Saez, the coordinator of Medio Marino de Ecologists in Action, in turn, argued that the plan fails to observe a bill on bluefin tuna that was approved by the Environmental Commission of the Congress in 2008, “with the support of all the parliamentary groups, the PSOE included,” Europa Press reports.

Meanwhile, the entity does not wish 'to serve as an accomplice” for the hypothetical disappearance of the resource, stated the head of Fisheries of the WWF, Raul Garcia.

However, “all is not lost,” assured the WWF chief, they will continue working on the conservation of bluefin tuna with “the agencies that can effectively resolve the problem."

MARM authorities "deeply” regret the refusal of the "important " environmental organisations to attend the meeting.

They claim their absence will be “a missed opportunity [for them to] get to know first hand and debate” what the government should do.

After highlighting Spain’s profound commitment to bluefin tuna sustainability, the MARM officials allowed that although “divergences and discrepancies can exist,” the Ministry will continue to conduct an open dialogue and debate.

Fishing industry representatives, among others, have been invited to the technical meeting as well, they added.

MARM will explain the position of the Administration and listen to the arguments of the parties implicated at the event.

Official sources clarified: “One has to abide by the directives of a regional organisation where decisions are made unanimously, even if these are just recommendations.”

Related article:

- Aid will soften blow of bluefin tuna bans: minister

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Fisheries minister Elena Espinosa did not think ICCAT's bluefin tuna quota cuts will affect Spain significantly. (Photo: MARM)

Aid will soften blow of bluefin tuna bans: minister

SPAIN
Friday, November 28, 2008, 02:10 (GMT + 9)

The head of the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Maritime Affairs (MARM), Elena Espinosa, said the bluefin tuna fishing sector will have aid at its disposal by the European Commission (EC) should a moratorium become necessary.

The minister made these declarations after learning of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas’ (ICCAT) decision to cut the 2009 bluefin tuna catch by 22 per cent to 22,000 tonnes next year.

ICCAT approved a 2009 bluefin tuna recovery plan that refers to both a cut in the total allowable catch (TAC) and a net fishing ban on the species in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean between 15 June and 15 April.

According to Espinosa, the cuts established by the ICCAT "will not be very significant" for Spain.

"Everyone has to make an effort. Any actions to the contrary will mean we will not have the species around a few years down the road," the Spanish minister said.

"Should a problem arise, we have taken steps to provide the corresponding aid if in fact any moratorium needs to be carried out," he added.

Under the new plan, fishing vessels must carry onboard observers for fishing method control purposes.

Four Gaditan tuna trap net fisheries - Conil, Barbate, Zahara and Tarifa - will also be affected by the cuts; these will be allowed to fish a maximum of 1,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna in 2009, per ICCAT's distribution.

Once approved by the EU Fisheries Council, the new limit will reduce the fishing effort targeting the bluefin tuna by more than 20 per cent, said the concerned head of the Almadraba Fisheries Producers Organisation OPP-51, Diego Crespo.

European Union (EU) Fisheries commissioner Joe Borg said the EC has all the instruments necessary to make 2009 "the year of compliance" with the accords.

Related articles:

- Tuna group cuts 2009 Atlantic catch
- Fishery meeting could decide bluefin tuna's fate

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Tuna being reeled on a longline. (Photo: Greenpeace)

Tuna group cuts 2009 Atlantic catch

MOROCCO
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 22:50 (GMT + 9)

The main Atlantic tuna fishing nations cut the 2009 catch to 22,000 tonnes but were accused Tuesday by conservation groups of driving the fish into extinction.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which brings together 46 major fishing nations ranging from Japan to the United States and Norway, set the figure at a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other environment groups said.

The WWF said the commission rejected the advice of its own scientists who wanted the 2009 catch drastically cut from 28,500 tonnes in 2008 to a figure between 8,500 and 15,000 tonnes. They also wanted a complete ban on fishing during the reproduction season in May and June, the WWF said.

The commission did not immediately announce the results of its meeting.

"This is not a decision, it is a disgrace which leaves WWF little choice but to look elsewhere to save this fishery from itself," said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean fisheries programme.

Greenpeace called the decision "disastrous and shameful."

WWF, Greenpeace and other groups want a complete moratorium on fishing.

"Any alternative is preferable to an organisation which boasts of its respect for science but where in a decade catches have gone from twice to four times the scientific recommendations, with massive legal and illegal overfishing," said Tudela.

He added: "ICCAT's string of successive failures leaves us little option now but to seek effective remedies through trade measures and extending the boycott of retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers."

The WWF said that the European Union (EU) was the main backer of the new quota, with the support of Japan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.

Japan had initially followed the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Iceland and Brazil in supporting a limit of 15,000 tonnes, the environment groups said.

The WWF and Greenpeace said that the EU put pressure on smaller nations to back the higher catch quota.

"The EU, representing the majority of Mediterranean countries with interests in the bluefin tuna fishery, has bullied other parties in the meeting into agreeing to management proposals which completely fail to follow the advice of ICCAT's own scientific body to substantially reduce fishing and protect the species' spawning grounds," Greenpeace said in a statement.

Greenpeace said that action should now be taken under the CITES international convention on saving species threatened with extinction.

The special ICCAT meeting was called to assess the threat to tuna in the Mediterranean basin and propose protection measures.

The European Mediterrean tuna fishermen's association, which says it represents 2,500 professionals in France, Italy and Malta, opposes any moratorium but says it wants tougher checks.

AFP

Related articles:

- Thousands more join WWF bluefin tuna boycott
- Fishery meeting could decide bluefin tuna's fate
- Panel of experts lambasts ICCAT for tuna management

The ICCAT-contracted panel of experts suggested closing both Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fisheries until members obeyed. (Photo: Akihiro)

Panel of experts lambasts ICCAT for tuna management

WORLDWIDE
Friday, September 12, 2008, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

A panel of experts has heavily criticised the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) for its management of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery in a report released this week.

ICCAT had commissioned the group to evaluate its management in the face of rising international concern.

The panel concluded that the ICCAT has fallen short of its goal to keep tuna stocks from falling to dangerously low levels - largely due to noncompliance of member states.

"A simple reading of the state of the stocks under ICCAT's purview would suggest that ICCAT has failed in its mandate as a number of these key fish stocks are well below MSY,” the panel said. “However, the Panel is of the view that rather than ICCAT failing in its mandate it is ICCAT that has been failed by its members."

Many of the signatory countries do not adhere to the recommendations of the Commission.

Some problems, however, lay in the regulations themselves. For example, the current bluefin quota set by the ICCAT is almost twice the 15,000 tonnes recommended by its own scientists, the report said.

The panel recommended full closure of the tuna fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean until all countries comply with ICCAT rules.

A closure is "the only way to stop the continuation of what is seen by observers and by other contracting party countries as a travesty in fisheries management," the panel said.

The European Union, North African countries, Turkey, Japan and the United States are the principle members of ICCAT involved in the fishing of bluefin tuna.

Other recommendations by the expert panel include: the closure of all known bluefin spawning grounds during spawning times, the creation of minimum catch size limits so that the species has time to breed, scaling back fishing effort to sustainable levels, and cracking down on illegal fishing.

In November, ICCAT member countries will review the management plan.

Environmentalist group Greenpeace threw their support fully behind the panel's conclusions.

"This report signals that it is time for ICCAT members to take responsibility for the fishery that has brought tuna to near-collapse,” said Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace Spain oceans campaigner.

The panel was made up of Glenn Hurry, chief executive officer of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and chairman of the West and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC); Moritaka Hayashi, professor emeritus of international law at Japan's Waseda University; and Jean-Jacques Maguire, a respected Canadian fisheries scientist.

Related articles:

- EC reacts to bluefin tuna overfishing
- Mediterranean tuna fleet greatly exceeds bluefin fishery capacity: WWF
- Fisheries minister calls ICCAT meeting a failure

By E. Fiske
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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A choice bluefin tuna specimen can fetch thousands at market. (Photo: Stock File)

Thousands more join WWF bluefin tuna boycott

WORLDWIDE
Monday, November 24, 2008, 18:20 (GMT + 9)

Almost 16,000 people from 149 countries have joined restaurants and retailers in a boycott on Mediterranean bluefin tuna until the fishery is well-managed and stock levels are under control.

The boycott was organised by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), which presented the petition last week to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Morocco where the organisation was meeting.

Dr. Sergi Tudela handing over the petition to ICCAT Chair Dr. Fabio Hazin. (Photo: P.Dickie/ WWF)

"Thousands of consumers from across the world are voting with their wallets by not buying or eating endangered Mediterranean bluefin tuna," said Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. "WWF hopes ICCAT acts on this strong plea from global citizens."

The list of consumers and retailers that are boycotting the species is growing, says the WWF.

The first businesses to sign on - Auchan in France, Carrefour in Italy, Coop in Italy, and others - have been joined by many more, including French supermarket Casino, German processor Deutsche See, French restaurant chain Elior, German processor Gottfried Friedrichs, United Kingdom seafood supplier M&J, Swiss supermarket Migros, French restaurant Relais du Parc, famed Spanish chefs Sergi Arola, Dario Barrio, and Karel Bell, and more than 50 individual restaurants in Monaco.

"Bluefin tuna was one of the star items on our menu, but the critical situation of the stocks made me take it off the plates so that diners can keep enjoying it in years to come," said Spanish celebrity chef Arola. "I believe it's my duty to take care of the sustainability of a dish as well as its taste."

The ICCAT has been under pressure from various countries, international organisations, scientists, and even their own review by an independent party to improve management of the fishery, said Tudela.

"Now they are also coming under pressure from more and more of their own citizens, their noted chefs, their leading restaurants and their leading marketers," he said.

Related articles:

- Fishery meeting could decide bluefin tuna's fate
- Panel of experts lambasts ICCAT for tuna management
- New satellite-based study to track Mediterranean bluefin tuna

By E. Fiske
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Mediterranean bluefin tuna are critically endangered due to years of over- and illegal fishing. (Photo: Nat. Geographic/ B.Skerry)

New satellite-based study to track Mediterranean bluefin tuna

SPAIN
Monday, August 11, 2008, 13:30 (GMT + 9)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will be embarking on a three-year research study of bluefin tuna migration patterns and adult and juvenile behaviour in the Mediterranean Sea.

The project, to depend on satellite tracking devices, falls under the ‘Trailing Mediterranean bluefin tuna’ campaign spearheaded by the WWF along with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and the University of Cadiz.

The scientific project is financed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and is backed by the Mediterranean Federation of Responsible Fisheries.

Between 15 August and 14 September, the Federation will grant vessel access to researchers in charge of tagging bluefin tuna in the waters of Baleares and the Gulf of Leon.

In the future, the survey will encompass other areas of the Mediterranean, including trap fisheries located south of the Iberian peninsula, tuna farms in Turkey, and the Strait of Gibraltar live bait fleet, among others.

For some time now, WWF experts have been warning of a bluefin tuna crisis in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean “after decades of overexploitation and illegal fishing.”

However, despite their ecological and commercial importance, WWF experts point out: “A lot of mystery still surround this fabulous species [in terms of science]” that, in the end, constitute a stumbling block “when adequate management and conservation measures must be implemented.”

The European Commission (EC) shut down the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing season early in June out of concern European fishers would overfish their catch quotas.

Mediterranean tuna has been subject to excessive overexploitation for years, and is a victim of its own success among fish lovers who crave sushi.
 
Around 70 per cent of the Mediterranean catch is sold to Japan.

Related articles:

- EU confirms closure of commercial tuna fishing season
- Mediterranean fleet given green light to harvest juvenile bluefin tuna: Greenpeace

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

A bluefin tuna for sale at an EU market. (Photo: FIS)

EU confirms closure of commercial tuna fishing season

EUROPEAN UNION
Monday, June 23, 2008, 23:30 (GMT + 9)

The industrial bluefin tuna fishing season in the Mediterrean has closed early, a spokeswoman for the European Commission (EC) confirmed Monday after a meeting with angry French and Italian fishermen.

"Tuna fishing in the Mediterranean is closed," said commission spokeswoman Nathalie Charbonneau for European Union (EU) Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.

On 13 June, the Commission called an early halt to industrial fishing of bluefin tuna at the peak of the season over fears quotas were being filled too quickly.

The move triggered a wave of fierce criticism from Europe's leading tuna fishing nations France, Italy and Spain, which accused the Commission of using faulty figures and demanded the decision be dropped.

Dismissing their accusations, the Commission hit back last week arguing that its critics were failing to keep track of catches, running the risk of overfishing.

"It's instant death" for fishermen, fumed Mourad Kahoul, president of the tuna fishing union in the Mediterranean, after the meeting at the commission in Brussels.

The season would usually have run to the end of June, when the fleet normally hauls in 90 per cent of its catches, taking as much as 550 tonnes of tuna per day.

The early closure will mean the commission facing fresh friction with France, Italy and Spain at a meeting in Luxembourg with EU fisheries ministers on Tuesday focussing on soaring fuel prices which have sparked waves of protests from trawlermen.

In theory, the ministers could overturn the commission's decision if a qualified majority is reached, which is unlikely to happen.

The commission's decision to close the tuna season early inflamed tensions with the fishing industry all the more because fishermen have been leading waves of protests against high fuel prices.

Chronically overfished, Mediterranean tuna are the victims of their success with fish lovers, who prize their flesh in sushi. About 70 percent of the Mediterranean catch goes to Japan and prices keep going higher.

"Without any fish there won't be any fishermen," said commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger.

AFP

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- Oceana denounces bluefin tuna fishing despite season's early closure
- Brussels ratifies bluefin tuna fishery ban
- Industrial bluefin tuna fishing to shut down early

Greenpeace has repeatedly called for the adoption of urgent measures that would save the bluefin tuna from commercial extinction. (Photo: Greenpeace)

Mediterranean fleet given green light to harvest juvenile bluefin tuna: Greenpeace

SPAIN
Tuesday, May 06, 2008, 15:50 (GMT + 9)

Environmental group Greenpeace denounced a leaflet issued by the Spanish Directorate General of Fisheries Resources on 25 July last year that authorised national fishing vessels to harvest juvenile tuna, against international convention.

The leaflet listed 67 Spanish vessels based out of the Mediterranean that the Secretariat General of Maritime Fisheries (SGPM) – the present Secretariat General of the Sea – had authorised to fish bluefin tuna weighing less than 30 kg, which contradict international and European Community regulatinons on the fishery, Greenpeace claimed.

The environmental organisation affirmed the leaflet was sent to the fisheries sector, maritime skippers, and fisheries inspection centres.

Sebastian Losada of the Greenpeace Oceans Campaign, commented:  “It is obvious that Spain is messing with the small print in the bluefin tuna recovery plan, and not complying with the international standards approved by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The permission to hunt bluefin tuna granted to nearly 70 Mediterranean vessels is outright illegal.”

Greenpeace activists chaining themselves to the Murcian company's Grupo Fuentes SL stand at the European Seafood Exposition lately held in Brussels. (Photo: Greenpeace)

The environmentalist leader criticised Spain’s double standard. The country, on the one hand, “attends international forums as an honourable combatant in the fight against illegal fishing, while on the other, it authorises the fishing of a species that is on the edge of commercial extinction.”

In a press release, Greenpeace also pointed out that the Spanish Government “has yet to explain the discrepancies between the Spanish industry's declared catch and the official figures sent by Spain to ICCAT that reveal a minimum 8,000 tonnes difference in the last decade.”

“Existing regulations do not allow for intensive bluefin tuna fishing during the month of June, the most important month in terms of species reproduction, and the harvesting of double the annual 15,000 tonnes allowed, which, according to scientists, that would help freeze the falling trend of bluefin tuna stocks." 

It was expected that the member states of the European Union (EU)  would approve a proposal to transfer to Spain a part of the bluefin tuna quota not officially caught in 2007, which resulted from an early closure of the fishery by the end of April.

The EU Fisheries Management Committee - made up of experts from 27 nations – will vote on a European Commission (EC) project that transfers tuna quotas to a number of States that were not able to fish when the fishery season was interrupted by Italy and France, countries that overfished their share, EC sources stated, EFE reports.

Related article:

- Sector granted transfer of unfulfilled 2007 tuna quota to 2008 season

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Spanish tuna fishers will be receiving an additional 5,378 tonnes in bluefin this year. (Photo: NOAA)

Sector granted transfer of unfulfilled 2007 tuna quota to 2008 season

SPAIN
Thursday, April 17, 2008, 00:50 (GMT + 9)

It is expected that the European Union (EU) Member States will give a green light to a proposal to transfer the unfulfilled bluefin tuna fishing quota to Spain’s favour, as a result of the fishery season ending earlier than had been originally planned.

The EU Fisheries Management Committee, made up by experts from 27 countries, will most likely vote on 23 April on a European Commission (EC) project  to transfer tuna quotas to those States that could not complete their harvest last year due to Italy and France exceeding their quotas, EC sources said, EFE reports. 

The proposal consists of distributing approximately 440 tonnes of bluefin tuna between Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal, of a quota "relinquished" by Italy and France. In 2007, French tuna fishers exceeded their 5,493.65 tonne quota by more than 10,000 tonnes.

The situation caused unease in the EC and among environmentalist groups, since a number of scientific studies point to bluefin tuna stocks in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean being highly vulnerable.

Spanish fishers will receive an additional 5,378 tonnes in bluefin tuna quota in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea for 2008.

Last year, Spain’s quota amounted to 5,568.2 tonnes of tuna, an amount that has been diminishing every year, in virtue of an agreement settled by the International Commission for Atlantic Tuna Conservation (ICCAT) as part of a recovery plan for the resource.

The EC proposal must be approved by both the Management Committee and the EC for it to enter into effect.

In October 2007, the EC accepted that Spain could increase its 2008 bluefin tuna quota by the previous year’s unfulfilled bluefin tuna quota as the result of a ban on Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean tuna fishing.

The Spanish government had requested that France and Italy offer “compensations” for having surpassed their bluefin tuna catches and for having instigated the early shutdown of the season.

The global TAC on bluefin tuna set by ICCAT for 2007 equalled 29,500 tonnes, of which the EU was assigned 16,779.55. For 2008, the TAC was fixed at 28,500 tonnes, with 16,210 tonnes allocated to the EU. The next two years saw a fall in TAC: 27,500 tonnes in 2009, and 25,000 tonnes in 2010.

Related articles:

- Brussels authorises Spain bluefin tuna quota for 2008
- Government to request compensation for bluefin tuna closure
- EU bans bluefin tuna fishing in Atlantic and Mediterranean

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com 

Bluefin tuna landings in port of Malta. (Photo: Greenpeace)

EU bans bluefin tuna fishing in Atlantic and Mediterranean

EUROPEAN UNION
Wednesday, September 19, 2007, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

The European Commission (EC) announced their decision today on the closure of the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea bluefin tuna fishery, given the 16,779.5 tonne quota allotted to the EU fleet this year has been exhausted.

The adopted measure will affect Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal, and Spain, while Italy and France -the other two Member States participating in the fisheries- have already closed their fishery 24 July and 27 August, respectively.

The EC indicated in a communiqué that they have noted “diffciencies in catch data reporting necessary for the monitoring in real time of the EU quota use.” Consequently the EC will come up with measures to rectify this situation.

The EC will also propose measures for 2008 fishery operations targeting a more uneventful year compared to those of the current year.

Joe Borg, commissioner of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Union (EU), said it is evident that there are problems concerning over-fishing of bluefin tuna and an equity situation between the Member States concerned.

Therefore he deems it is the ECs duty to do all it can to address these issues as soon as possible.
 
The EU fleets were allowed a quota equal to 16,779.55 tonnes of bluefin tuna. This total allowable catch (TAC) was assigned to the EU by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) at the beginning of the year.

The quotas allowed for the Member States involved in the bluefin tuna fishery are: 

MEMBER STATE

QUOTA ALLOCATED(tonnes) Cyprus    154.68 France 5,493.65 Greece 287.23 Italy 4,336.31 Malta 355.59 Portugal 523.88 Spain 5,68.1 Others 60

For those Member States that have not yet reached their catch quota, the EU norm has provisions to compensate this when future fishing quotas are granted and a mechanism to reduce over-fishing by Member States concerned.

The bluefin tuna population in the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean have been “been over-fished for many years, and scientists have repeatedly warned of the danger of collapse if nothing is done to dramatically reduce the level of fishing activity,” stresses the EC release.

Over-fishing of bluefin tuna fishery is considered to be one of the main causes for the alarming decline in its populations.

Related article:

 - The EC cuts Spain’s Northern bluefin tuna quota by 11 per cent

By Analia Murias
www.fis.com

Red tuna fishing in Cartegena, Spain. (Photo: WWF)

The EC cuts Spain’s Northern bluefin tuna quota by 11 per cent

SPAIN
Thursday, March 01, 2007, 09:30 (GMT + 9)

The European Commission (EC) has decided to grant Spain a 5,568.21-tonne quota for northern blufin tuna in 2007, within the framework of the general distribution of the species among all the member states, summing up to a TAC of 16,779.55 tonnes.

The amount for the Spanish fishers supposes a decrease of 697.79 tonnes (11 per cent) of northern blufin tuna compared to last year's quota, although Spain is the most favoured country.

On Tuesday, 27 February, the EC submitted the proposal for the distribution of the fishing quotas in relation to the recommendation the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) made in November 2006. On that occasion, the global TAC was set in 29,000 tonnes for 2007, and in 25,500 tonnes by 2010.

Spain will get the largest quota from the total allotted to the European Union (EU), followed by France with 5,493.65 tonnes. Italy has been granted 4,336.31 tonnes; Portugal, 523.88 tonnes; Malta 355.59 tonnes; Greece, 287.23 tonnes; and Cyprus fetched a quota of154.68 tonnes.

While the EU gets 57 per cent of the total TAC, the countries of the southern Mediterranean Sea –Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and y Libya- will get 27 per cent of the total and Japan, nine per cent. The rest will be distributed among China, Croatia, and Korea, explained an EC press release.

Meanwhile, the EC reported that it will propose Member States support the recovery plan the ICCAT approved last year.

EU sources said that they were consulted by agency Europa Press reported that it is a “difficult plan” for the “difficult time” the tuna reserves are going through.

Meanwhile, scientists insist that the fishery is likely to suffer a “collapse” if overfishery is not brought to a halt, urging measures to ensure the sustainability of the fishery be taken.

Related articles:

- EU announces cuts to tuna quotas
- EC will propose eight per cent reduction in tuna catches for this year
- EP approves new measures for conservation of highly migratory species
- EU commissioner welcomes 'decisive' bluefin tuna recovery plan

By Analía Murias
www.fis.com

Late last year the ICCAT took measures to ensure the sustainability of northern bluefin tuna stocks. (Photo: Greenpeace)

EP approves new measures for conservation of highly migratory species

EUROPEAN UNION
Friday, February 16, 2007, 10:50 (GMT + 9)

The European Parliament (EP) approved on Wednesday ,14 February, a report updating the EU regulation on the conservation measures for certain highly migratory fish species, Northern bluefin tuna.

With 663 votes in favour, 17 opposed, and 10 abstentions, the MPs approved a text highlighting the fact that in order to comply with the protection measures, the European Commission (EC) and the member states in the international forums must make a commitment.

The report was prepared by the Spanish MP Rosa Miguélez Ramos, who claims the implementation of new measures tending to preserve certain stocks of highly migratory fish.

"Given the risk currently faced by some stocks of highly migratory fish, the European UnionCommon Fisheries Policy, (EU), in virtue of commitments taken on within the framework of the must promote the use of more selective and marine environment friendly fishing gears,” the report states.

It also states that “the increased commercial value fetched by some of these species in the global fish market demands a strict control policy of the illegal fishing practices.”

Moreover, the approved document reports that the current levels of northern bluefin tuna catches are not sustainable in the long term, which is why the EU “must propose urgent measures for the reconstitution of the stock, including a recovery plan if necessary to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantica Tunas (ICCAT).”

The results of the scientific studies indicate a risk of collapse in the northern bluefin tuna fishery, which prompts EU Member States to establish control measures helping to solve the problem of overfishing, “together with a recovery plan.”

The EP also passed another report on the clarification of the term “driftnet,” also prepared by Miguélez Ramos, and defined as "nets that are held on or just below the surface of the water thanks to floats, they can drift on their own or, more frequently, with the vessel to which one end is tied. It can be equipped with devices tending to stabilise the net and/or limit its drift.”

The EP plenary considers that the introduction of a uniform definition of driftnet is "indispensable," because it will “facilitate the application of EU legislation in this field and prevent it from being unfulfilled by way of the plurality on interpretations on a national scale.

In November 2006, EU Fisheries Commissioner  Joe Borg said the “decisive measures” taken by the members of ICCAT provided a concrete opportunity for ensuring the sustainability of northern bluefin tuna stocks.

Some of the actions consist in establishing ban seasons, reducing fishery, allowing a minimum amount of landings, and implementing a system of international inspections on the high seas.

Related articles:

- EU commissioner welcomes 'decisive' bluefin tuna recovery plan 

By Analía Murias
www.fis.com

Environmentalists warn of tuna's eventual extinction if fishing continues at current rates to match worldwide demand. (Photo: J. Murias)

EU announces cuts to tuna quotas

EUROPEAN UNION
Wednesday, February 28, 2007, 13:10 (GMT + 9)

 The European Commission (EC) on Tuesday published reduced quotas for the fishing of tuna for 2007, part of a global agreement to prevent the immensely popular fish from being hunted to extinction.

The total bluefin tuna catch for the European Union (EU) as a whole was set at 16,779.55 tonnes for the year, down from 18,301 tonnes in 2006.

The move follows a decision by an international commission to cut the total hunt of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean by 20 percent by 2010.

On a national level, Spain was allocated the biggest quota, 5,568.21 tonnes, closely followed by France at 5,493.65 tonnes with Italy, the third of the EU's big tuna fishers, set a quota of 4,336.31 tonnes.

The EC, which is the EUs executive arm, also endorsed a range of control measures adopted at a meeting in Tokyo last month of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which includes 43 countries or areas, among them the EU.

The ambitious plan seeks to restore tuna stocks over 15 years. Overfishing is currently threatening the market and the species.

The joint plan calls for better coordination to track trade, including by tagging fish to verify catch numbers and sharing information to blacklist illegal fishing vessels.

Environmentalists have warned that tuna faces eventual extinction if fishing continues at current rates to feed a worldwide fad for Japanese food.

Japan, which eats a quarter of the world's tuna and sends its fleet worldwide to catch the fish, agreed last month to a quota of 2,175 tonnes in 2010, down from 2,830 tonnes in 2006.

AFP