The government’s request to the EU for a substantial increase in bluefin tuna quotas is irresponsible, the coalition of Maltese NGOs Fish for Tomorrow said.
At the Agriculture and Fisheries council in Luxembourg this week, Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes argued the sector’s recovery should be used to give a strong signal that conservation measures pay off.
These signals, he said, could only be given through an immediate, fair and substantial increase in quotas.
He was speaking after an update of the last Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock assessment concluded on October 3 by the scientific committee of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT).
The assessment was made in preparation for its annual special meeting set for November 10 to 17, when fishing rules and catch limits will be reconsidered.
Malta referred to the recent scientific advice by saying this would allow the EU to be ambitious in terms of negotiating an increase in the quota.
But John Daniel Farrugia (also known as JD), speaking on behalf of Fish for Tomorrow, said the report continuously emphasised that the scientific data was still very limited and needed to be monitored to obtain a clearer picture. “This is especially true for the Mediterranean,” he said.
The scientific committee was also concerned about the current fishing capacity which, it believed, “could easily harvest catch volumes well in excess of the rebuilding strategy adopted by the Commission”.
Mr Galdes’s call for a substantial increase in bluefin tuna quotas was therefore “irresponsible”, Fish for Tomorrow said.
Small-scale fishing operations are the future for ensuring sustainable fisheries
The coalition urged decision makers to take a precautionary approach: “This would ensure that, when the time is right, quotas may be increased without consequence.
“We would also like to continue to stress the importance of small-scale fishing operations as these are the future for ensuring sustainable fisheries rather than the current industrial operations which are ultimately responsible for this collapse,” the coalition said.
Their call echoed that of international organisation WWF, which reiterated the ongoing need for tough rules and close monitoring to ensure the full recovery of the species population.
“Strong concerns remain, particularly regarding the traceability of fish from ocean to plate – and WWF strongly urges continued caution,” said Sergi Tudela, head of fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
A cornerstone of the current recovery plan is ICCAT’s Bluefin Tuna Catch Document (BCD) which aims to ensure full traceability from catch to market, but better enforcement and more widespread checks are needed to ensure full implementation, the WWF said.
A recent study by the organisation concludes the BCD system is plagued with shortcomings that compromise its ability to keep illegal bluefin products out of the market, as well as demonstrating it does not meet the minimum standards required under EU regulations to curb illegal fishing.
WWF said reforming the BCD was a task of the utmost urgency to eradicate the illegal practices that have been plaguing this fishery and to ensure only legal fish entered the market.