By Atuna
Nowadays the final focus for the Atlantic Bluefin is getting the species on the CITES list as last resort to protect it for total extinction. Less attention has there been for the consistent inability over the last 10 years of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to prevent the depletion of this tuna species. However, in the document “Requiem for a Bluefin Tuna -an International Trade Analysis (1998/2009)†the shocking numbers of this 10 year ongoing catastrophe are made very visible.
The word “requiemâ€, refers to a funeral song at the church mass for the souls of the death, was written by Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies, SL, headed by bluefin consultant and activist Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi. Mr. Bregazzi was previously working as a consultant in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna farming sector – but later chose to consult for environmental organizations and collect the lacking data about the over–exploitation and IUU catch of this tuna species. His in-depth reports have helped uncover many illegal practices – previously unknown or undocumented.
According to his report, ICCAT has the “dishonorable privilege†of having overseen a 72% decline in the adult population of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock of bluefin tuna and an 82% percent decline in the adult population of the western Atlantic stock, over the past 40 years:
“In recent years (1998-2008) countries that fish the eastern stock, which spawns in the Mediterranean, have illegally done so at over twice the sustainable level, thus causing the dramatic stock decline of a species that has been fished inside the Mediterranean Sea for as long as 7.000 years. Tuna ranches in Cyprus remain empty in 2009 due to extreme low catches in the eastern Mediterranean; Tuna ranches in Malta, Greece, Turkey and Tunisia have been jam-packed with juvenile BFT in 2008 and 2009â€, Bregazzi added.
The report concludes that quota over-catches have raised from 3.570 M/T in 2004 to a staggering 24.297 M/T in 2008, and estimations for total r/w bluefin catches last year reached 53.380 M/T. In addition, it makes harsh criticisms to ICCAT’s bluefin management plan, which according to it, didn’t stop bluefin “rampant†over the last five years.
The report points out clearly that the reason for ICCAT failure is the evidence of non compliance by its member countries. It quotes the following statement of Former Deputy Director General of the Commission, Dr. Peter Makoto Miyake: “the reason for the failure in the management of Eastern Atlantic BlueFin tuna is that fishing countries around the Mediterranean have not complied with ICCAT's regulatory measures. (...) If member States had abided by the quota, the present situation would never have happened.â€
ICCAT itself has admitted that the Illegal, Reported & Regulated r/w bluefin over catch for the period 1998-2008 amounted to 16.936 M/T: “Such figure is nevertheless in sharp contrast with a detected whole round BFT over-catch of 85.812 M/T for the period 1998-2008, when comparing yearly Trade and ex-Trade Fluxes against ICCAT yearly Quotasâ€, claimed the document.
Within the report an analysis of the bluefin data over the period 1998-2009 can be found. It specifies catch numbers per country, and the trade volumes per each exporting and importing country. Japan is the main destination of Fresh/Chilled & Frozen bluefin with 61% over the last 11 years. The European Union (EU) is the second top destination. It also shows that EU’s main bluefin fishing and ranching Member States (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal & Spain) have a 62,55% share of total worldwide traded volume of Fresh/Chilled & Frozen bluefin.
Mr. Bregazzi is now retiring from the tuna business conscious that he has tried his best to preserve bluefin stocks “I think I have done everything in my power to try and save this beautiful species to be fished to extinction. I doubt that I have been successful at it. At least I made my pointâ€.
The full document will soon be available on Atuna.com in Market Reports section.