12 Sep
2006 - Brussels, Belgium – New data released today
by WWF, the global conservation organization,
reveal that bluefin tuna has almost been fished
out of some of the Mediterranean’s oldest fishing
grounds.
Catches around Spain’s Balearic
Islands in the western Mediterranean, for example,
are down to just 15 per cent of what they were
just a decade ago. Only 2,270 tonnes have been
caught there this year — mainly by French and
Spanish fleets — compared with 14,699 tonnes in
1995.
The data also reveal that Mediterranean
bluefin tuna farms — which would usually be filling
up by this time of year — have experienced substantial
decline. From 2006’s catches of wild Mediterranean
tuna, some 22,520 tonnes have been put in captivity
and farmed — a 25 per cent reduction compared
to 30,000 tonnes farmed last year. Six Spanish
tuna ranches have already ceased operating altogether
because there were simply no more tuna.
The findings support a recent
WWF-commissioned report — The plunder of bluefin
tuna in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic in
2004 and 2005: Uncovering the real story — that
explains how huge illegal activity is plundering
the last remaining bluefin tuna, providing even
more indication that collapse of the species may
soon follow.
“The new data point to the risk
of economic collapse in the Mediterranean bluefin
tuna fishing and ranching sector,” warns Roberto
Mielgo Bregazzi of Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies
and author of the WWF bluefin tuna report.
“The Mediterranean bluefin tuna
species is under threat and many jobs in the tuna
fishery are being jeopardized. The situation is
alarming.”
WWF is urging the European Commission
to support a strict recovery plan for the fishery,
including: closure of industrial fishing during
the spawning season to save the last reproducing
fish; improved real-time monitoring of fishing
and farming activities; compulsory observers on
board all tuna vessels and in tuna farms; and
the setting of a scientifically based minimum
catch size.
WWF is presenting the findings
on the 2006 fishing season today at the European
Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, which is holding
a special hearing on the bluefin tuna crisis.
On this occasion, fishermen from the traditional
tuna trappers’ association in Spain are joining
WWF, calling on to the EU to take immediate action.
“We fear for our jobs,” said
the association’s Director General, Marta Crespo
Márquez. “The EU has still not reacted
to repeated warnings from scientists and we are
looking to our elected representatives to take
their responsibilities seriously.”
The European Commission will
represent EU Member States at the ICCAT (International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas)
meeting in November. As one of the most important
players in the decision-making process, the EU
can push for the protection of the Mediterranean
bluefin tuna, to prevent further decline.
END NOTES:
• The bluefin tuna fishery season
starts in April/May when the fish swim into the
Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic to spawn.
Traditional tuna trappers catch them on their
way into the sea. From May/June larger scale fishing
methods are used to catch the fish in the high
seas, which are then either transferred to tuna
farms or transported directly out of the Mediterranean
to the Japanese or other markets. The current
closed season for the fishery is 15 July to 15
August. Tuna caught after this time is destined
for Euro-Mediterranean consumption.
• The study — The plunder of
bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic
in 2004 and 2005 – Uncovering the real story —
was conducted for WWF by independent consultancy
Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies (ATRT).
• ICCAT (International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) meets
for its annual plenary meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia,
from 17–27 November 2006.
