The EU has welcomed the decisions on catch levels for southern Bluefin tuna, stepping up the fight against illegal, unreported and undeclared (IUU) fishing and banning large-scale drift nets taken at the 23rd annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) in Kachsiung, Chinese Taipeh.
To the regret of the EU, however, a proposal for seabird mitigation measures failed once again to find consensus within the CCSBT.
In line with scientific opinion, the total allowable catch (TAC) for southern Bluefin tuna was kept at 17,341 tonnes for 2017. The TAC will be increased by 3,000 tonnes for the period 2018-2020.
For the EU, the decision entails a slight increase of its by-catch quota from 10 to 11 tonnes. Japan’s southern Bluefin tuna quota was set at around 4,700 tonnes and Australia’s quota will be around 5,600 tonnes. The EU also welcomes the fact that the allocations for developing coastal countries were increased to take account of their legitimate fishing aspirations.
Progress was also made in the fight against IUU fishing through the revision of the IUU listing procedure. In addition, a resolution prohibiting the use of large-scale driftnets on the high seas will further help to increase the sustainability of southern Bluefin tuna fisheries, the Commission notes. ( Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)