Representatives of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) decided at its annual meeting, which ended last Friday, that Josu Santiago, head of research AZTI-Tecnalia tuna, is the new chairman of the scientific committee of this international organization.
By 2011, Santiago will replace the current ICCAT president, the U.S. scientist Gerald P. Scott, who has performed this work during the past five years.
ICCAT is an intergovernmental organization responsible for the conservation of tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean, consisting of 48 contracting countries, covering almost all countries with fishing interests in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Its scientific committee is responsible for developing and recommending procedures to collect, analyze and disseminate statistics of fishing activities taking place in the convention area, as well as biological information on stocks under its responsibility. ICCAT coordinates research activities within the national and international programs, carries out stock assessments and advises the Commission on the need for specific conservation and management of fisheries resources.
AZTI-Tecnalia has participated in the ICCAT Scientific Committees since the late 80's, providing data Basque tuna fisheries in the Atlantic. Together with Josu Santiago, two other scientists from AZTI-Tecnalia perform tasks of responsibility in this Committee. Thus, Haritz Arrizabalaga is currently responsible for the Subcommittee on Ecosystems and Paul de Bruyn coordinates the Working Group on stock assessment methods.
