Source: 9 News
South Australian Fisheries Minister Michael O’Brien says he hopes the Southern Bluefin tuna quota will be increased with the current debate over catch limits the most important for 20 years.
The scientific committee of the international Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna will meet in Indonesia this week.
It is responsible for setting a total allowable catch and the allocation of that catch among member countries.
“The international decisions that will be made this year in relation to the Southern Bluefin tuna quota are arguably the most significant in 20 years,†O’Brien said. “If the scientific evidence is there, and I believe it is, I'm hopeful the decision makers will increase the quota.â€
Last year Australia’s quota was cut by about 23 percent to just over 4000 tons.
Almost 90 percent of that is caught off South Australia by a tuna fleet operating out of Port Lincoln.
O’Brien said the tuna industry was of vital importance to the social and economic wellbeing of Port Lincoln and the Eyre Peninsula.