Brussels, 02/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 February, the Canadian fisheries ministry said that the European Commission's red tuna fishing quotas were too high and should be halved to protect fish stocks (see EUROPE 9375). We are not happy with EU red tuna quotas for the Eastern Atlantic, explained Jim Jones, head of the Canadian delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), quoted by AFP.
Scientific research shows that the quotas have been reduced far too little and total allowable catches need far more draconian cuts, added Jim Jones. He said the tuna quotas put forward by the EU should be cut by half to 7500 tonnes, rather than by only 8% as proposed by the EU in order to have any hope of restoring tuna stocks. He said that Canada and the United States fish for red tuna in the Western Atlantic, but tuna makes huge migrations and large fishing quotas in the Eastern Atlantic affect fish stock conservation efforts in the Western Atlantic. (lc)