12 Mar
2008 - Rome, Italy The most comprehensive
analysis yet of the Mediterranean bluefin
tuna fleet shows it conservatively having
twice the fishing capacity of current quotas
and more than three and a half times the
catch levels recommended by scientists to
avoid stock collapse.
The fleet is so bloated
that just covering its costs implies that
a third of its fishing would be illegal,
with the worst over-capacity culprits being
Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Libya, France and
Spain.
The new WWF report,
Race for the last bluefin, "uncovers
the absurdity of a system long out of control,
where hundreds of hi-tech boats are racing
to catch a handful of fish, said Dr Sergi
Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
The failure of international
fisheries management has allowed a monster
to thrive in the Mediterranean. Decision-makers
must be bold if the bluefin is to be saved
from a sorry fate and for any chance of
a future for Mediterranean tuna fishermen.
To keep fishing capacity
within the 2008 legal catch limits imposed
by the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
the Mediterranean fleet would need to shed
229 vessels almost a third of the current
617-vessel fleet.
Reducing fishing effort
to scientifically recommended levels, meanwhile,
would require decommissioning 283 vessels,
including 58 in European Union Member States.
In Italy worst culprit
among EU countries the fleet should be
reduced by over 30 vessels to respect scientific
recommendations, or 17 just to stay within
the law. The WWF report indicates that high
levels of under-reporting by Italy are also
likely, as its reported catches have dramatically
decreased since 1997 yet during the past
decade the Italian fleet has increased considerably
in size and power. Croatia, Spain and Libya
are also under the spotlight for under-reporting.
At a minimum, the report
shows Mediterranean fleets would have to
fish 42,000 tonnes of tuna just to cover
costs implying some 13,000 tonnes of illegal
catch. This calculation considers only the
more technically advanced vessels built
in the past decade the full picture will
be much worse yet.
It is crazy the numerous
new fleets are so modern and costly that
fishermen are forced to fish illegally just
to survive and worse still they are fishing
themselves out of a job, added Dr Tudela.
WWF is calling on concerned
countries to dramatically reduce capacity
in this fishery as a matter of urgency ahead
of the 2008 fishing season that starts end-April.
WWF also urges ICCAT, the body tasked with
sustainably managing the fishery, to take
a lead in proposing radical solutions. Until
the fishery is under control and sustainably
managed, WWF continues to advocate a fishing
ban and to applaud responsible retailers,
restaurants, chefs and consumer groups who
are boycotting Mediterranean bluefin in
increasing numbers.
The fishery is unsustainable
in every way economically, socially, and
ecologically. The time to act is now while
there are still bluefin tuna to save in
the Mediterranean, Dr Tudela said.
In spite of the overcapacity
of fleets, at least 25 new purse seine vessels
were still being constructed at time of
going to press.
