05 Jul
2006 - Gland, Switzerland – Bluefin tuna stocks
in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean are being
stripped bare by illegal and unscrupulous fishing,
warns a new WWF report. The global conservation
organization demands an immediate closure of the
fishery.
The independent study commissioned
by WWF, The plunder of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean
and East Atlantic in 2004 and 2005 – Uncovering
the real story, reveals the full extent of illegal,
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for bluefin
tuna.
Fleets from the EU (mainly France),
Libya and Turkey are the main offenders. These
countries are greatly exceeding their fishing
quotas and deliberately failing to report much
of their massive catches – thereby also avoiding
paying taxes and bypassing sensible management.
The 42-nation International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT), where the EU plays a major role, is responsible
for regulating the fishery. However, the annual
fishing quota of 32,000 tonnes set by ICCAT was
smashed by more than 40 per cent in 2004 with
a catch of 44,948 tonnes, rising to 45,547 in
2005. Real catches are likely to amount to well
over 50,000 tonnes, a figure confirmed by the
ICCAT scientific committee.
“The European Commission risks
bearing witness to the collapse of this centuries-old
fishery,” said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s
Global Marine Programme.
“We urge EU Fisheries Commissioner
Joe Borg to show leadership and call for an immediate
total closure of the fishery, and request that
he supports strong management measures at this
November’s ICCAT meeting that guarantee a future
for the fishery.”
The report also reveals deliberate
misreporting and laundering of bluefin tuna catches.
Unreported tuna catches are increasingly slaughtered
and processed at sea before being shipped out
on board enormous vessels destined for the lucrative
Japanese market.
“Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks
risk imminent commercial collapse,” said report
author, Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi, CEO of Advanced
Tuna Ranching Technologies.
“In the race to catch shrinking
tuna stocks, industrial fleets are switching from
traditional fishing grounds to the last breeding
refuges in the eastern Mediterranean and Libyan
waters.”
In addition to calling for an
immediate closure of the fishery, WWF urges ICCAT
members to adopt a sustainable recovery plan for
Atlantic bluefin tuna, which must include a dramatic
reduction in tuna fishing and farming capacity,
improved enforcement and reporting.
If ICCAT fails to do this
WWF will mobilize traders and consumers in the
major markets of Japan and the US to stop buying
bluefin tuna from this fishery.
Sarah Bladen / Anne Rémy
