A computer failure prevented the European Commission from receiving –in time- the notification of Spanish bluefin tuna captures, according to the Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fishery, Mrs. Elena Espinosa, who explained that the investigation file initiated by Brussels would not be attributed to the Spanish authorities.

Mrs. Espinosa assured that the opening of the file “does not worry” the Ministry, because the document received from the Commission states that it recognizes the existence of a problem that kept the computer system inactive during 24 hours.

The principle which Mrs. Espinosa defends is “Responsible and sustainable fishing” and she affirms the “100 percent certainty” with which Spain complies with the plan of recovery of bluefin tuna.

Not only was the initiative for the bluefin management and recovery plan born in Spain, during the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) annual meeting in Seville end 2005, but also Spain has not even exhausted its assigned quota for bluefin tuna catches”, Mrs. Espinosa said.