Brussels, 16/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU may not be allowed to fish for bluefin tuna next year because none of the European countries that fish for bluefin tuna (apart from France) has yet submitted its national fish stock recovery plans, warned the European Commission on Wednesday 16 February.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki warned in a letter to the fisheries ministers of the countries in question, namely Spain, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus and Greece, that the EU's fishing fleets run the risk of not being allowed to fish for their quota of bluefin tuna in 2011 if the EU is unable to submit recovery plans on time. The Commission wants the countries in question to send in their national plans by Thursday 17 February because any further delay would undermine the EU's credibility internationally.
This is a final deadline because the actual deadline for the EU to submit its bluefin tuna recovery programmes to the International Commission for the Conservation of Tuna in the Atlantic (ICCAT) was 11 February. The plans set out the number and type of fishing vessels to be authorised by each country for bluefin tuna fishing in 2012, but Damanaki explains that the EU was unable to respond because apart from France, most of the plans submitted by the member states were not suitable for requirements. The Commission explains that the fishing reduction targets are too low and ship inspections also fail to meet the grade.
ICCAT's inspection committee will examine the capacity, fishing and inspection plans of its members from 21 to 25 February as part of the plan to restore bluefin tuna stocks in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The decision about whether or not to allow the EU to fish for bluefin tuna will be taken by this ICCAT inspection committee that same week.
In her letter, the fisheries commissioner draws attention to the urgent need to rectify this situation so as not to damage the counties which, like France, have met their obligations and are therefore rightly entitled to fish their quotas. The bluefin tuna fishing season runs for a few weeks only - from 15 May to 15 June. At its last meeting, ICCAT decided on an overall bluefin tuna quota of 12,900 tonnes in 2011, compared with 13,500 in 2010. (L.C./transl.fl)