Source: Malta Independent

The European Union’s parliamentary fisheries committee has drafted a legislative resolution in a bid to thwart over-fishing and enforce stricter laws to protect the depleted status of bluefin tuna.

The draft was adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) which, since 1992, has campaigned vigorously – and continuously upgraded its Bluefin Tuna Statistical Document program – to protect the endangered bluefin tuna.

The Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers’ secretary John Refalo said: “The industry finds no objection to the latest set of proposals and will, as it has always done, comply and abide with the latest legislation.”

Countries such as Malta, Italy and Spain are hosts to some of the Mediterranean’s, and the world’s, largest tuna farm operations, that supply Asia, and Japan in particular, for its use in sushi and sashimi.

In some cases, the precious fish can sell for more than $100,000 dollars apiece and, as a result, the tendency is for the big players in the industry to over-fish and ignore the poorly enforced quotas.

If the legislation goes through, those involved in the bluefin tuna trade must now indicate the name of the catching vessel or trap, the flag state, where and how the fish was caught, the number and size of the fish included, information on the exporter or seller, transhipment information and also fish-farming details, which include the date of caging and estimated number and weight of the fish caught.

The legislative resolution was adopted with 19 votes in favor and one abstention and the European Parliament is expected to confirm the vote during its June plenary session.

By the late 1990s, the trade in bluefin tuna was becoming more sophisticated and difficult to track. EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki said that the Commission “will have no choice but to take the necessary steps to ensure that EU legislation is complied with.

“There is a sense of urgency in all this, because many stocks are in an alarming state and fishermen are catching less every year. More than 54 per cent of the stocks that were analysed by scientists are over exploited,” she said. Calls for an international ban to protect the species from becoming extinct were dismissed in Doha, Qatar, last month, with Japan in particular lobbying very hard for the rejection of the proposal.

ICCAT voiced its approval of the latest set of rules, saying: “Bluefin tuna of good quality are worth so much money that operators have gone to extraordinary lengths to evade controls, more often than not cheating their way through.

“It is clear that the combination of the depleted status of bluefin tuna, the very high prices paid for the fish (whether caught legally or not) and the obvious difficulties in controlling fishing activities and trade means that the best efforts of ICCAT for the past 20 years have not been sufficient to guarantee a sustainable fishery.”

There are six fish farms in Maltese waters, three of which are for sea bass and sea bream, with the remaining three for bluefin tuna.

However, while the industry has been the subject of much controversy, and has often been blamed for the pollution of Maltese waters, there is no doubt that the fish-farming industry is a strong player in the Maltese economy.

Since its inception, it has grown from strength to strength, to the extent that it currently enjoys a turnover of some €128 million, while its export share in the economy stands at around 4.6 per cent. Some 236 people are currently employed in the industry.

“Malta is uniquely placed to capitalize on the excellent qualities and favorable temperatures of the surrounding sea water. This natural resource gives the Maltese aquaculture industry a competitive edge over many of its international competitors,” said Prof. Carmelo Agius, the man responsible for establishing the National Aquaculture Centre (NAC) at Fort San Lucjan in 1988.

A study conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) last year revealed that, for every one euro of output in the aquaculture industry, another €0.24 of output is generated in other sectors of the Maltese economy, in many cases indirectly.