The French newspaper Midi Libre - also citing from Le Marin - announces the demand for the launch of an enquiry by the French fisheries authorities into fraud by French tuna fleets. The southern French daily reports that French purse seine operators had made false declarations of catches that had in fact been made by other European fleets - especially Italian. The requested enquiry would compare official catch declarations with satellite information on fleet movements and data on offloads at tuna farms and foreign ports.
The newspaper states that Mourad Kahoul, President of the Association of Mediterranean Fisheries Organizations, was not available for comment.
Meanwhile Hubert Carré, Director of the National Committee for Maritime
Fisheries and Aquaculture, is quoted as saying: “The behavior of certain professionals discredits the profession as a whole.â€