Brussels, 29/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The NGOs are describing it as a scandal, but the fishermen are relieved. The most notable decision of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which concluded its meeting on Saturday 27 November, is a reduction of just 5% of the total allowable catch (TAC) for bluefin tuna allocated for next year. Additionally, the 48 contracting parties to ICCAT agreed on measures to protect certain sharks (hammerhead shark, oceanic whitetip shark and shortfin mako shark). The EU regretted the lack of progress on the protection of the swordfish and the bigeye tuna.
The 2001 quota for bluefin tuna fisheries allocated for next year is 12,900 tonnes - 600 tonnes less than the current quota. Ecological NGOs were calling for the quota to be slashed to 6,000 tonnes, and for the creation of sanctuaries in the spawning grounds for bluefin tuna, which migrates in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. They did not hide their disappointment. The WWF described it as a “diplomatic failure for France” and spoke of a mask of transparency. “None of the measures concerning the protection of the spawning grounds was adopted, despite new scientific evidence going in this direction and the stances of certain states and environmental NGOs”, the World Wildlife Fund stated in a press release. “Once again, the bluefin tuna has been denied the protection it desperately needed”, said Sue Liebermann of the American NGO PEW.
Greenpeace stated that the meeting had “led the bluefin tuna into the corridor of death”. Japan, which absorbs 80% of all bluefin tuna caught in the Mediterranean, had called for stricter controls to eradicate illegal fishing and the black market. The United States was also disappointed, having recommended a greater reduction in allowable catch. French Minister for Fisheries Bruno Le Maire on the other hand, “welcomed” the result, which he described as representing “a balance between respect for the resource and maintaining the socio-economic fabric in the longer term”. The quoted decided upon “is the quota proposed by the scientists and therefore the one which guarantees the effective renewal of the resource”, Le Maire told the press on Monday 29 November.
In the view of Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, the results of the ICCAT meeting “represent a step in the right direction for the sustainable management of bluefin tuna and other species. This is important not just for ICCAT waters and stocks, but for fisheries management globally, and for the EU as a whole”, the commissioner stated in a press release.
The allocation key for bluefin tuna fishing opportunities was changed slightly, in favour of transferring quota from Algeria to Libya and Turkey. The EU keeps its current proportion of the total bluefin tuna TAC, 56%. This gives a European bluefin tuna quota of 7,224 tonnes for 2011.
“Tuna debt”. France is the only European country which has officially recognised that it exceeded its bluefin tuna quota in 2007. It is believed to have asked to spread the remaining 3,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna debt over four years (France already deducted 1,000 tonnes in 2009 and 2010), but the European Commission has been very strict: France will have to do deduct 1,500 tonnes from its quota in 2011 (it will have just 900 tonnes left) and the same in 2012. “Honesty never pays. France is the only country in Europe which admitted in 2007 that it had overfished. Yes, of course we wanted to correct our mistakes”, Bruno Le Maire told the press on Monday. “It would not have been ridiculous to have staggered this payment over a number of years. The impact on the resource would have been zero. On the contrary, the impact on the fishermen's activities would have been positive. I regret the fact that the European Commission did not agree with us on this point”, the French minister explained. In 2007, the French tuna boats exceeded their quota by 4,000 tonnes.
Lastly, ICCAT adopted a recommendation of the EU on setting in place an electronic catch record system for bluefin tuna, to help simplify checks and traceability.
Sharks. It was decided to ban landings and sales of hammerhead sharks, with an exception for the shovelhead shark. A derogation is also permitted for small-scale coastal fishing for hammerhead shark. The EU failed to push through a ban on fishing for porbeagle, due to Canada's opposition to this measure. Nor was there an agreement on a ban on landing thresher shark. ICCAT decided to ban fishing for oceanic whitetip shark. Lastly, fishing permits have been brought in to regulate fishing for shortfin mako shark.
ICCAT adopted a recommendation on marine turtles (obligation on operators to declare any interactions with these animals, and measures to reduce accidental captures of marine turtles).
The EU is extremely disappointed by the lack of agreement on measures to improve the management and restrict fisheries of swordfish and bigeye tuna. (L.C./transl.fl)