31 October 2013
Taiwan and Japan
Larger catch quotas for southern bluefin tuna have been granted to Taiwan and Japan for next year. Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency announced that after two years under strict regulations under an allowable catch scheme, the two Asian countries have had their catch limits of southern bluefin raised.
According to the agency, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) agreed that the global allowable catch for 2014 will be 12,449 tons, which is a 1,500 ton increase on this year. Decided at the CCSBT 20th annual meeting in Adelaide, Australia, earlier this month, Japan’s quota was set at 3,361 tons and Taiwan at 1,036 tons. This is an 88 ton rise for Taiwan and a 658 ton hike for Japan.
As referenced on the CCSBT website, southern bluefin tuna swim in their majority throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Taiwanese vessels mainly catch the tuna in the Indian Ocean and occasionally by boats fishing in the Atlantic and Pacific. Both Taiwan and Japan are both CCSBT members.
The Taiwan Fisheries Agency said that if the global southern bluefin tuna catch quota rises to the potential 14,647 tons in 2015, Taiwan is expecting to gain an annual limit of 1,140 tons.
