Brussels, 26/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - Fishing quotas for bluefin tuna will not increase in 2014. They remain set at 13,400 tonnes in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean, and 1,750 tonnes in the Western Atlantic, as in 2013: that was the decision made on Monday 25 November in South Africa by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), following a week of discussions which were as heated as usual.
In other words, this inter-governmental organisation finally decided to follow the advice of the scientists. A new scientific assessment of the stock of bluefin tuna is scheduled for February. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Malta called for talks to be reopened at this 23rd annual meeting, but the precautionary principle won the day.
An ICCAT press release states that bluefin tuna quotas have “again” been maintained at levels which will allow the stock to recover, “while recognising the right of coastal states to catch their quotas within their own waters through a change in the time/area closure for purse seiner fishery in Norwegian waters”. Scientific opinions was also reflected in the total allowable catches (TACs) of bigeye, albacore and swordfish, which will be re-examined, ICCAT notes.
The organisation goes on to state that progress is continuing over reinforcing the monitoring, surveillance and control measures, with an extension of the coverage of the bigeye tuna statistical document, some fine-tuning of the electronic bluefin catch document scheme and additional measures on access agreements and chartering arrangements.
ICCAT is also calling for a specific number to be given to all vessels of 20 metres in length or greater to counteract repeated changes of name and flag.
No decisions on sharks
Oceana and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) lamented the fact that sharks will not benefit from the same strategy of caution on the part of ICCAT, due, according to the WWF, to the “radical opposition of Japan, China and Korea”.
Three measures were discussed, but rejected: - removing derogations in the ban on finning (a practice which consists of cutting the fins off the shark and throwing the animal back into the sea); - ban on holding porbeagles on board or selling them; - setting in place catch limits for shortfin makos. This is the fifth year in a row that ICCAT has decided not to enshrine the first two measures and the second time that it has rejected limits on catches of shortfin mako.
It is “outrageous” that the parties to ICCAT have once again neglected their responsibilities to shark management, Oceana commented. (LC/transl.fl)