European Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki indicated yesterday she might propose a “slight increase” in the tuna quota.
We will follow scientific advice
However, she advised against re-opening talks on the agreement between European Union member states on how the quota should be distributed, saying that might not be in Malta’s interests.
Speaking to Times of Malta yesterday, Ms Damanaki said that since scientific data indicated that tuna stocks in the Mediterranean were recovering, she might ask for a slight increase in the quota for the 2014 season.
“We will follow scientific advice and our proposals will be aligned to the new data,” she said.
“There are indications that bluefin stocks are slightly recovering in the Mediterranean and our proposals will reflect that.”
Until a few years ago, the fishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean was unregulated.
Stocks dwindled heavily due to overfishing, to the extent that some scientists were predicting a possible extinction of the lucrative species.
The European Commission, in agreement with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, introduced a management plan in 2006, slashing quotas allocated to member states.
This affected Maltese fishermen, who saw their allocation cut by more than half.
Individual fishermen and the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers (FMAP) have since been pressurising the Government to try to persuade the Commission to raise the quota.
Apart from an increase in global quotas, which will then be distributed according to an established EU agreement, Maltese fishermen have also asked for the re-opening of the EU agreement on how the quota is divided between member states.
Ms Damanaki does not think this would be a good idea.
Stating that Malta was not the only member state asking for an increase in quotas, she warned that re-opening the agreement could have negative consequences for the island.
“The allocation between EU member states was agreed a long time ago and was based on historical data. If member states agree to re-open this agreement I can facilitate this but, to be honest, I think that everybody needs to be cautious.
“If we re-open (the agreement) no one knows how it will end up. Remember, other members would also like to increase (the quota) and we must respect relativity,” she said.
Bluefin tuna fishing is big business in the Mediterranean and fish caught in the open seas are normally fattened in offshore cages before being shipped or air-freighted to Japan to be used for sushi and sashimi.
In a good season, Malta could export as much as €80 million worth of bluefin tuna.