The decline in bluefin tuna stocks in the Mediterranean may have reached a turning point, according to scientific data that will be welcomed by the Maltese tuna industry.
There are clear signs of a fast recovery of stocks all over the Mediterranean
The management plan introduced some years ago to curb fishing for this species is working and tuna stocks have already increased, scientists from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna have concluded. ICCAT is the global body that oversees tuna fishing.
“There are clear signs of a fast recovery of stocks all over the Mediterranean and this is a direct result of lower fishing quotas and better surveillance measures put in place over the past years,” it said.
The World Wildlife Fund warned against any over-enthusiasm: “It is true that there are positive indicators but it is still too early,” a WWF spokesman told The Times.
“Despite the good news, ICCAT scientists warned of the high uncertainty surrounding the recent assessment of the stock and acknowledge that they do not know about the speed and extent of the detected recovery trend,” WWF said.
As the attention of the industry turns to the next ICCAT meeting which starts next week in Agadir, Morocco, both sides of the tuna divide are devising their negotiating positions. While the industry will be seeking an increase in quotas from 2013, the pro-environment lobby is insisting quotas should remain at current levels for the next three years to ensure positive indications are maintained.
During a recent meeting with the tuna industry in Brussels, the European Commission, an important negotiator in the discussions, said it was not backing the idea of an increase in quotas for next year. However, it also said it would consider asking for higher quotas if the current trend persisted. Malta’s quota this year stood at 160 tons, hundreds less than what it used to be some years ago. The island is considered to be a leader in tuna ranching, having some of the largest facilities in the Mediterranean.
An increase in the overall EU quota would directly benefit the local industry as this would enable them to buy more young fish from foreign fisherman to fatten in their cages.
Most of the locally fattened tuna is exported to the Japanese sushi and sashimi markets.