Brussels, 07/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Madrid from 29 September to 3 October, the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) confirmed the alarming level of overfishing of bluefin tuna in 2007, in particular in the Mediterranean but also in the Atlantic. The international plan for safeguarding bluefin tuna stocks will be reviewed during the extraordinary ICCAT meeting from 17 to 24 November this year in Marrakesh (Morocco).
ICCAT experts say last year's bluefin tuna catches reached a total of 61,000 tonnes, while total allowable catches (TACs) attributed to all ICCAT members was 29,500 tonnes (i.e. 51% of illegal catches). The ICCAT scientific committee had recommended a 15,000 tonne TAC. Furthermore, ICCAT experts concluded that: - bluefin mortality through fishing is still too high (over three times the level considered acceptable to ensure the species is not endangered); - and the spawning biomass is too low (36% below tolerable levels). In a press release published on Monday 6 October, Oceana, the organisation for protection of the oceans, calls on ICCAT and the countries involved in this activity to “act in order to halt the decline and prevent a collapse”. Oceana recommends “drastic” measures be taken, including the closure of bluefin tuna fishing from June to August, a period that corresponds to spawning months. (L.C./transl.jl)