EU Commissioner Borg Calls For Measures To Save Bluefin Tunaff
23 October 2006
European Union The European Union (EU) commissioner Joe Borg called for strengthened measures against the overfisihing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, a statement issued in response to a recent warning from scientists that the collapse of stocks in imminent if bluefin tuna fishing is not significantly curbed.
The research and statistics committee of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) estimated that the current fishing effort is more than three times the sustainable level. A report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) confirmed the same figures.
The WWF report also criticized Malta for ignoring illegal tuna spotter planes seen in June and the illegal transfer of poached tuna from Libyan waters to Maltese bluefin tuna farms. There are doubts about the legality of the catches regarding the Libyan origin of most of the tuna caught in Malta, which are believed to be in excess of 60 percent of the quotas stipulated by ICCAT.
The WWF report blames the French and the Libyan fleets for overfishing the species exported to Japan. In 2004 and 2005, Japan imported Maltese tuna valued at a total of USD 116.
Commissioner Borg stated that all interested parties EC, member states and ICCAT, should address the issue and agree to coordinate an approach to deal with illegal fishing and encourage stock recovery.
The ICCAT recommends that the short-term sustainable catch across the Mediterranean be limited to 15,000 tons a year, or less than one-third of the current total. The ICCAT also recommends to extend the current seasonal closure of the fishery to cover the entire spawning period of May through July, as well as to increase the minimum catch size of up to 30 kg.
