Brussels, 29/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) are meeting up in San Sebastian, Spain on Monday 29 to Friday 3 July. The meeting, which follows on from the first such event held in Kobe, Japan, in 2007 (EUROPE 9349 and 9354) will discuss a variety of subjects relating to the future of the tuna fishing industry. The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union will therefore meet the different representatives from the following organisations: the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).
The meeting agenda includes a review of the actions agreed in Kobe, a workshop on reducing overcapacity in the global tuna fleet, and the agreement of a new plan of action for the next two years. European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg commented: “Most tuna stocks around the world are overfished, because there are simply too many tuna vessels pursuing them”. He affirmed that surveillance must be strengthened “wherever tuna is fished and fleet overcapacity needs to be urgently addressed in a coordinated way”. The Commission considers that the agenda laid out at Kobe two years ago needs to be strengthened and its implementation accelerated.
The Kobe process seeks to improve coordination across the whole range of RFMO policy, including scientific research, market issues, monitoring and surveillance, the impact of by-catches, and support for developing countries. (L.C./trans/rh)