Brussels, 18/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission called, on Wednesday 18 May, for EU countries to ensure that bluefin tuna is not caught in Libyan waters and not to buy tuna caught by vessels flying the Libyan flag. Libyan vessels fishing for bluefin tuna are acting illegally. The bluefin tuna fishing season opened on 15 May for one month, but Libya has failed to meet its obligations towards the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Commission says. Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki has written to EU fisheries ministers to point out to them that bluefin tuna caught by Libyan vessels was well on the way to being deemed illegal by the ICCAT Compliance Committee.
Without an agreement, “no EU vessel will fish in the Libyan fishing zone”, the commissioner states. She calls on the member states concerned to monitor the fishing activities of those vessels flying the Libyan flag. In 2011, the EU has a quota of 5,570 tonnes of bluefin tuna. (L.C./transl.rt)