On Monday 27 October in Luxembourg, the European fisheries ministers prepared the positions that the European Union will defend at the next meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), to be held in Seville, Spain, from 17 to 24 November.
The Spanish Fisheries Minister, Luis Planas, stressed that “scientific reports show a very significant recovery in bluefin tuna stocks, with a 19.3% improvement in the population in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean”.
This is why Spain will ask that “the potential increase in catches from 2026 onwards be set at around this percentage” and will ask the European Commission not to reopen the quota allocation key for this species. At the ministerial meeting, Portugal, Cyprus and several other Member States reportedly supported this request for an increase in bluefin tuna quotas.
The total allowable catch (TAC) for bluefin tuna in the zone, applicable from 2023 to 2025, is set at 40,570 t per year overall, including 21,503 t per year for EU countries. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)