Seprona, the Nature Protection Service of Alicante police in Spain, has seized a batch of bluefin tuna at the wholesale auction, coming from an illegal fishing operation in Italy, according to a Press Release issued by command headquarters.
The operation, carried out at the end of June, is a part of Seprona’s fisheries prevention and control activities that has a particular focus on the bluefin tuna recovery plan.
The seized tuna came from Italy where it had been fished illegally, and it was lacking the obligatory documents that should prove the tuna’s provenance, as well as compliance with health regulations. Spanish legislation, as part of European regulations, requires the provision of such documentation with reference to the transport and trade of fish, even that which has been caught outside Spanish waters.
“If no changes are made to current fishing practices, the western Atlantic Bluefin stocks are at risk of collapse as they are showing little sign that the population is rebuilding following a significant reduction in the 1970s.â€
