Governments have agreed to an annual 20 per cent increase over three years in bluefin tuna catches, a move that Fish for Tomorrow fears will jeopardise stocks.
The coalition working for sustainable fisheries said the decision by 50 states attending a meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) earlier this week, risked the recovery of stocks recorded in recent years.
This year’s quota of 13,500 tonnes will rise to 16,142 tonnes next year and 19,296 tonnes in 2016. While increasing the quotas, the participating governments failed to strengthen protection for the Mediterranean swordfish. Juvenile fish represent 75 per cent of catches, according to Oceana, the largest international organisation focused solely on ocean conservation.
This year’s quota of 13,500 tonnes will rise to 16,142 tonnes next year
The increase in tuna quotas came after an apparent recovery of stocks noted in a recent report by ICCAT, which also stated that significant gaps in data must be addressed before an accurate assessment of the situation could be made.
It warned of current levels of potentially devastating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, noting that the existing fishing capacity “could easily harvest catch volumes well in excess of the rebuilding strategy adopted by the commission”.
A cornerstone of the recovery plan in place is ICCAT’s bluefin Tuna Catch Document (BCD), which aims to ensure full traceability from catch to market. However, better enforcement and more widespread checks are needed to ensure full implementation, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
A recent WWF study concludes the BCD system is plagued with shortcomings that compromise its ability to keep illegal bluefin products out of the market. The study also demonstrates that it does not meet the minimum standards required under EU regulations to curb illegal fishing.
The call for an increase in tuna quotas was trumpeted by the Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights, Roderick Galdes, at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg last month. The move was slammed as “irresponsible” by Fish for Tomorrow.
Bluefin tuna spawns just once a year and is unable to reproduce until it is between eight and 12 years old. This makes them more vulnerable than other fish species that spawn at a younger age.
The stock had been reduced to a low of 150,000 tonnes in the mid-2000s. Japan is largely responsible for the species’ decimation as it consumes more than three-quarters of the annual catch, according to WWF.
Japan was also behind the development of tuna pens in Malta, financing the setting up of the first farms belonging to Azzopardi Fisheries, which, subsequently, acquired full ownership of the fish farms operated by the company.
Tuna are not bred in farms. They are caught from the wild and fattened for export, usually to the lucrative Japanese market.