Bluefin tuna: Commission closes purse seiner fishing

The European Commission said today that it was closing Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing using purse seiner methods due to the exhaustion of the quotas allocated to member states.

The decision will become effective at midnight tonight.

"The closure of the purse seine fishery is necessary to protect the fragile stock of bluefin tuna and to ensure its recovery as envisaged by the recovery plan of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT)," the Commission said.

The Commission recalled that it had declared a zero tolerance approach towards overfishing and it would take all necessary measures to ensure full compliance across the board.

The majority of Maltese fishermen are not affected by the decision as they still catch tuna in a traditional way using long-lines, rather than purse seiners.

However, this early closure could have an effect on tuna ranches which buy fish caught by purse seiners.