By Atuna.com
The Spanish government is seeking to increase its quota for bluefin tuna, based on an assessment by the Scientific Committee of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
Spain will make the request to the European Union’s Fisheries Council of Ministers in Luxembourg today and tomorrow.
Josú Santiago, president of the ICCAT Scientific Committee, said the latest report by the organization “clearly highlights the importance of an improvement of the bluefin tuna stock and spawning biomass status relative to the 2010 latest assessment.†He made the comment at a recent scientific conference in Tarragona, Spain, but also stressed the need to be cautious with the data, as there are still doubts about the true extent of such recovery, according to media reports.
The Scientific Committee will recommend to keep bluefin tuna catch quotas at the annual limit of 12,900 tons, set in 2010, or to slightly increase the quotas to 13,500 tons, said Santiago.
Currently, the European fleet is allowed to catch a total of 12,900 tons and Spanish vessels are allotted 2,411 tons.
Bluefin tuna catches will be decided in November, during the ICCAT annual meeting in Agadi, Morocco.
The Spanish government is hoping ICCAT will send a positive signal to the industry to value the conservation efforts made since 2006.