Tuna cuts would encourage illegal catches, fishermen warn

Malta’s fishing industry has warned Brussels that fresh plans to further cut bluefin tuna catches in the Mediterranean would lead to illegal fishing.

During a meeting of EU Fisheries Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday the European Commission is expected to suggest further decreases in bluefin tuna quotas for EU fishermen for 2011.

However, this measure is expected to be resisted by a number of member states amid claims by fishermen that it would drive them out of business.

Malta has not yet taken a final position on the issue although it is expected to continue to maintain that tuna fishing should be sustainable.

According to EU sources, the commission is planning to propose to cut by more than half the quotas for next year. Quotas for 2010 are already at an all-time low due to fears that bluefin tuna stocks are close to collapse.

However, the local industry is opposing the commission’s stance and argues this proposal could mean the end of the tuna sector in Malta.

Although the commission has not yet issued a formal proposal, since it will first wait to gauge the reaction of member states, environmental lobby groups are suggesting that quotas for 2011 should fall to 6,000 tonnes from the 13,500 tonnes permitted in 2010 and shared among all the EU member states which fish this species.

Maltese fishermen have already seen their annual tuna quotas slashed, from 344 tonnes in 2008 to 161 tonnes this year. A further cut like the one being touted in Brussels would mean Maltese fishermen will remain with a quota of 71 tonnes this year, which according to the local fishing industry will make tuna fishing unprofitable.

A spokesman for the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers told The Sunday Times that according to scientific data there was no need for any further cuts and warned the sector would be tempted to operate illegally if EU ministers agreed to this move.

“We do not understand why the European Commission wants to slash the catch further because the report issued by the Scientific Committee on Research and Statistics of the International Commission for the conservation of Atlantic Tunas is very encouraging,” the spokesman said.

According to the report, the stock is stronger than was previously estimated (170,000 tonnes against the previously estimated 75,000 tonnes) and there are evident signs of recovery.

“Slashing the quota from 13,500 to 6,000 tonnes will mean Maltese fishermen will not be able to catch an amount sufficient to enable them to fish profitably,” he said.

“This means the temptation to fish illegally will increase since in most cases the allowable catch would not allow fishermen to recover expenses.”

On the other hand, environment lobbyists in Brussels are encouraging the commission to follow the path of further slashing the current quotas.

Welcoming the commission’s announcement, the World Wildlife Fund said that scientists estimated that stock size was only one third of sustainable levels and that only a total fishing quota of less than 6,000 tonnes per year might allow the tuna stock to rebuild by 2020 “with a probability of over 60 per cent”.