31 Jan 2007 - The future looks bleak for Mediterranean bluefin tuna following the catastrophic conclusion to a meeting of ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) today in Tokyo, says WWF.

Governments have completely failed yet again to put in place sustainable management measures for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic – effectively signing the death sentence for the species. ICCAT has been meeting in Tokyo, Japan from 29-31 January to allocate quotas for the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery.

“The result of this meeting will be the law of the jungle. The massacre has now been rubberstamped and allowed to continue at full speed,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “Strong trade measures for bluefin tuna are now the only option.”

The result of this week’s meeting in Tokyo is the worst news yet for bluefin tuna. ICCAT members have failed to agree on quota allocation – with Libya and Turkey setting their own quotas outside of agreed catch limits. This would mean an annual catch of 32,414 tonnes in 2007 – beyond the 32,000 tonnes allowed in 2006, whilst WWF and international scientists had called for a total allowable catch of 15,000 tonnes if the species is to survive in the long term.

In addition, following Libya’s objections to the proposed ICCAT plan, the 2007 fishery will remain totally unpoliced until at least 1st August. ICCAT rules dictate that in the case of objection from even one Contracting Party, a management plan can be effectively frozen for two months.

This would leave bluefin tuna vulnerable to massive overfishing during its critical breeding season of May through July.

“This is one of the worst crises in international fisheries we have ever seen,” said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme. “ICCAT has proved it is incapable of responsible fisheries management.”

WWF recalls the commitment of Japan – the main consumer of Mediterranean bluefin tuna – in its opening statement at ICCAT in 2006. It said that in the case of no agreement on conservation and management measures, there should be “no fishing opportunity at all” in 2007 – implying that Mediterranean bluefin tuna should be neither fished, sold or bought.