Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
Scientists agree on tuna ban
Scientists yesterday concurred that Mediterranean bluefin tuna was on the verge of collapse and that the international trade in the species should be banned.
The assessment, by scientists of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), will come as bad news for Malta's multi-million euro tuna industry, which is desperately opposed to such a ban.
Meeting in Madrid, the scientists concluded that the spawning biomass amounted to under 15 per cent of what it once was before fishing began, meaning that bluefin tuna met ICCAT's criteria for protection.
The scientific consensus is that a suspension of commercial fishing is the only measure that will give the species the chance to recover.
The verdict comes just days before the start of ICCAT's annual conference on the 2009 tuna season in Brazil and is expected to have a major influence on the conference outcome. ICCAT compiles fishery statistics from its members and provides a mechanism for contracting parties, including Malta, to agree on management measures.
Maltese fishermen and the tuna industry are fiercely opposed to a total ban of international trade in tuna as they depend heavily on this fishery. It is estimated that, in 2007, Malta exported €100 million worth of tuna to the Japanese sushi market and local fishermen claim tuna amounts to two-thirds of their annual income.
Malta can now only expect a negative conclusion from the ICCAT meeting.
Earlier this month, Monaco submitted a proposal to temporarily ban international commercial trade of tuna and allow the species to recover from years of ineffective fisheries management and control. The EU is not backing Monaco's proposal, following opposition by Malta and other Mediterranean member states.
The crucial decision will be taken at the next Conference of the Parties of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in March, when Monaco will be calling on the 175 member countries to vote in favour of its proposed ban. If it is approved, the Maltese tuna industry will be practically dead.
Welcoming the scientists' verdict yesterday, both Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which have been insisting on a total ban, said a suspension of fishing activity was the only solution to save tuna.
"We must stop mercilessly exploiting this fragile natural resource until stocks show clear signs of rebound and until sustainable management and control measures are firmly put in place," Sergi Tuleda, from the WWF's office in Brussels, said.
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AMizzi
Nov 3rd 2009, 10:08
This appears to be the full report...I'm not convinced that this article is balanced.
http://www.iccat.int/Documents/Meetings/Docs/PA2-604%20ENG.pdf
Edward Camilleri
Oct 30th 2009, 20:02
Very well said Emilie! we cannot continue exterminate one species after another, as if nothing happened.
Emile Cassar
Oct 30th 2009, 18:42
Il-flus imorru u jigu, imma l-huta jekk tmur ma tergax tigi. Ohra: Kemm-il persuna jimpjegaw dawn il-fish farmers ezattament? Jien nahseb li jekk il-fish farms naghlquhom illum hadd ma jhoss in-nuqqas taghhom ghada hlief sid il-fish farm! Mela fittxu ghalquhom ha nsalvaw it-tonn!
D Camilleri
Oct 30th 2009, 17:24
this is great news... for the bluefin tuna and for the maltese who oppose this blatant overexploitation.
g. scerri
Oct 30th 2009, 13:19
@R. Vassallo; "How long is this country going to take to open its eyes?" That depends, as you well know, in whose interests this country is ruled.
Dion Borg
Oct 30th 2009, 12:55
Well said Raphael Vassallo
It seems that some politicians have a "somewhat" distorted notion of what Malta's interests is actually about!
One would at least expect that someone assumes political and personal liability over this issue which is effectively eradicating the tuna and polluting our shores and seabed.
Charles Sammut
Oct 30th 2009, 12:05
@ Raphael Vassallo
Surely you are not so naive not to know why "the bluefin tuna issue is only ever reported from the perspective of the tuna ranchers and the government that backs them. "
In fact this goes all the way up to Malta's representative in the European parliament.
Asinus asinum fricat
Chris Finch
Oct 30th 2009, 11:13
I don't think that the amounts caught by the Maltese fleet have a big impact on the stocks, what does affect the fish stocks is the extremely damaging fish farming trade.
Juvenile fish are caught from the wild and then fattened and slaughtered in one season thus not giving them chance to breed. There is also the resultant pollution from overfeeding, the waste produced by the fish themselves and the 'tuna oil slicks' that can be seen covering the sea surface.
All this so a couple of 'fat cat' business men can get even richer.
Unfortunately it will be the smaller Maltese fisherman and his family that suffers because of the greed of a few when the international bans are in place.
Companies are freezing and stockpiling blue fin tuna in advance because once the tuna is extinct, the prices will sky-rocket.
Raphael Vassallo
Oct 30th 2009, 11:08
"Malta can now only expect a negative conclusion from the ICCAT meeting."
This is a strange comment, placed halfway through an otherwise very factual article. I can't understand why the bluefin tuna issue is only ever reported from the perspective of the tuna ranchers and the government that backs them. What about the rest of us? Malta stands to gain, not lose, from a ban on international trade. Not least the traditional long-line fishermen, whose trade was hijacked in the late 1990s by people who have no interest in the long-term survival of the species, but only in their own short-term profit. Ironically even the ranchers themselves stand to gain, as they can hardly expect to continue raking in millions when the fish they thrive on ceases to be profitable. How long is this country going to take to open its eyes?