21 Nov 2007 - Geneva,
Switzerland – Bigeye tuna are under threat
because authorities are failing to recognize
the dire extent of overfishing. If protection
measures are not put in place, says WWF
and TRAFFIC, the tuna stocks are at serious
risk of collapse.
Up to 60% of the bigeye tuna catch in the
Eastern Pacific are small, juvenile fish,
and the proportion of these is rising, says
a new report from WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife
monitoring network.
“Removal of juvenile fish, before they
reach adulthood and breed, compromises the
sustainability of tuna stocks and reduces
the availability of adults for the high-value
sashimi markets in Japan,” says Glenn Sant,
TRAFFIC’s Global Marine Programme Leader.
“Instead they end up being worth a few
cents in a can."
Bigeye tuna is highly prized in Japanese
sashimi markets, but unless fisheries are
better managed, the bigeye will become yet
another endangered tuna species, like Atlantic
and Southern bluefin tunas.
The report reveals that bigeye tuna stocks
in the Eastern Pacific, Indian, Atlantic
and Western and Central Pacific Oceans are
all suffering from excessive fishing and
the Eastern Pacific stock is overfished.
Measures needed to protect the stock include
the setting of precautionary catch limits,
introduction of bigeye population restoration
programmes, halting the harvesting of juvenile
fish, and improved data collection.
“Science demands a sharp reduction in the
catch of bigeye tuna, but over the past
decade this advice has been ignored,” says
Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global
Marine Programme.
“Once again the high seas are being fished
out, and unless global intervention is effective,
important fish stocks will be lost forever.”
The report shows that government members
of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
— the main international mechanism to regulate
fishing on the high seas — have generally
been slow to respond to scientific advice,
have failed to address overfishing of bigeye
tuna, and have not met their legal obligations
under the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.
The collapse of bigeye tuna stocks will
have a profound economic impact on fishing
fleets, associated processing and trading
industries and on a number of island states
who rely on income from fishing fleet fees.
The report is being launched before the
organization in charge of bigeye tuna management
in the Western and Central Pacific — The
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
— meets to discuss management measures.
WWF and TRAFFIC calls on commission members
to act in line with their international
obligations and follow the advice of its
scientific committee before it’s too late.
END NOTES:
• Governance of the world’s oceans is characterized
by a patchwork of organizations tasked with
the conservation and management of living
marine resources. Formal cooperation between
states through Regional Fisheries Management
Organizations (RFMOs) dates back to the
1920s. There are now 16 RFMOs with a mandate
to establish binding management measures
for fisheries resources.
• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring
network, works to ensure that trade in wild
plants and animals is not a threat to the
conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint
programme of WWF and IUCN-The World Conservation
Union.
Sarah Bladen, Communications Manager
WWF International
Richard Thomas, Communications Coordinator
TRAFFIC International
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Final blow for Mediterranean tuna
19 Nov 2007 - Antalya, Turkey – Delegates
attending a meeting of the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (ICCAT) have wasted an opportunity
to impose order on a fishery that has spiralled
out of control, says WWF.
The 2007 season saw unprecedented reports
of overfishing, under-reporting, catch laundering
and fishing activity even after the fishery
closed for the season. This, however, has
not been sufficient to urge those responsible
for international fisheries management to
take strong action to save the imperilled
Mediterranean bluefin tuna.
“ICCAT has proved itself to be entirely
incompetent and has failed again in its
duty to sustainably manage our common marine
resources,” says Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of
Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
“This week’s lack of action from ICCAT
is bad news for the long-term survival of
a millennial fishery, and could prove fatal
for the tuna.”
At the meeting, delegates adopted a proposal
from Japan whereby industry players involved
in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna business
can, if they wish, attend a meeting in Tokyo,
to brainstorm on the management of the fishery.
This is a formal acceptance by ICCAT of
the market-driven, rather than science-driven,
nature of management in this fishery.
The only glimmer of hope was the introduction
by ICCAT of a "catch documentation"
scheme, to trace the fish from vessel to
market.
"We believe this measure is too little,
too late," Dr Tudela said. "ICCAT
was not bold enough to meet our urgent request
for a moratorium."
The idea of a multi-annual closure of the
Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery was,
however, tabled by the US and strongly supported
by Canada. Other countries involved in the
fishery talked down the proposal, and even
succeeded in getting an increased overall
quota for the 2008 fishery, despite the
fact that ICCAT’s independent scientific
committee has repeatedly stated that collapse
of Mediterranean bluefin tuna is imminent.
“Latest estimates indicate that large adjustments
to current management measures would now
be necessary to enable recovery, otherwise
collapse is at this point probable,” the
chairman of ICCAT’s scientific committee
said.
“The message from ICCAT’s own scientists
is loud and clear – this fishery is running
headlong towards collapse,” added Dr Tudela.
“Yet even in this most critical of situations,
ICCAT has failed to find an appropriate
solution, instead putting bluefin tuna management
directly in the hands of private operators.
“What hope remains for Mediterranean bluefin
tuna? The situation is grim.”
Gemma Parkes, Communications Officer
WWF Mediterranean
