Higher quotas will push Atlantic tuna closer to collapse, campaigners warn

European leaders accused of ignoring their own scientific advice by driving through higher catch quotas for endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna

Juliette Jowit, guardian.co.uk 25 Nov 08;

Tuna may follow cod to become the second major Atlantic fish species to collapse after European leaders were today accused of driving through new catch quotas far above the levels recommended by scientists.

The international environment campaign group WWF renewed its call for a consumer boycott of Atlantic bluefin tuna - a staple of Japanese sashimi - after countries involved in its trade ignored their own scientific advice, despite a collapse in the fish populations.

WWF also accused the European commission (EC) of leading the pressure for higher quotas by using threats over trade to "bully" developing nations into switching sides from a rival proposal to stick to the scientists' recommendation and ban all fishing during the spawning season in May and June.

Sue Liebermann, head of species at WWF International, warned that the mistakes which led to the collaspe of Atlantic cod – and led the UN's food arm to warn that seven out of 10 of all marine species are depleted - were being repeated. "Bluefin is a symbol of what we're doing to the oceans, species by species," she said.

Xavier Pastor, executive director in Europe for marine conservation group Oceana, said: "They [the EC countries] gave in to the fishing industry's short-term economic interests. With this decision, we can only wait for the disappearance of bluefin tuna."

The EC did not want to comment on accusations of bullying. But, it said, because it was "mandated" by member states, it had "pushed for" a package of measures which included the higher quota, a shortening of the fishing season from six to two months and tougher rules to stop illegal catches.

"A [quota] is not enough in itself to protect fish stocks; a reduced [quota] accompanied by a shorter season and increased control is the solution to preserving this resource," said Nathalie Charbonneau, spokeswoman for the EC fisheries and maritime affairs department.

Scientists at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) warned in 2006 that bluefish tuna numbers in the east Atlantic and Mediterranean had dropped to one-fifth of their levels in the mid-1970s, and massive illegal fishing was leading to annual catches as high as 50,000 tonnes.

Their report warned that "a collapse in the near future is a possibility". It called for the legal quota to be more than halved from 32,000 to 15,000 tonnes and for a ban on all fishing in the spawning period during May and June.

Yesterday, Iccat member nations, led by the EC and several north African countries, voted to cut the quota to 22,000 tonnes - defeating a rival notion to stick to the scientists' advice led by the US, Canada and Norway.

WWF said it would now ask the international body the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) to list Atlantic bluefin as an "appendix 1" species, which would put a ban on international trade and switch off the lucrative market in Japan where most of the fish are sold.

A previous attempt to get Cites to take action in the 1990s was defeated when Iccat pledged to take its own measures to protect the bluefin, said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF's Mediterranean fisheries programme. "Sixteen years later it's clear to the world that Iccat has failed, now it's time to go very serious with CITES," said Tudela.


Bluefin tuna: Call for boycott after quotas set higher than scientists recommend
Conservationists have called on consumers to boycott dishes containing endangered bluefin tuna after an international body set catch limits next year higher than scientists recommended despite warnings that stocks will collapse.
Charles Clover, The Telegraph 25 Nov 08;

Under pressure from the EU and North African countries, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) set catch limits at 22,000 tons of valuable bluefin tuna for next year, higher than the upper limit of 15,000 tons its own scientists recommended.

ICCAT scientists also recommended that fishing for bluefin, the most expensive ingredient used in sushi, should be banned during the months of May and June, but the decision allows industrial fishing until June 20, curtailing the season by only 10 days.

The UN-recognised Commission, meeting in Marrakech, brushed aside an internal review which branded its management of bluefin stocks in the Atlantic and Mediterranean as an "international disgrace."

Deletes to the Commission, from Atlantic and Mediteranean countries and the biggest importer, Japan, ignored a vote by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Barcelona this autumn calling for a total moratorium on fishing until member states got rampant illegal fishing under control.

Illegal fishing has led to catches reaching a total of an estimated 61,000 tons of tuna this year.

The European Union led the successful proposal to set higher quotas and was supported by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria and later joined by Japan.

Japan had initially been party to a proposal by the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Iceland and Brazil, supported by a developing nations, to fix the catch at 15,000 tons and close the fishery for the full spawning period.

Libya, host of the most prolific remaining tuna fishing area in the Mediterranean, walked out of the meeting.

Conservationists pointed to the Commission's decision as proof that ICCAT, which has ignored its own scientists' advice on quotas for a decade, had failed as a credible international regulatory body.

WWF called for the management of tuna to be taken over by the body which regulates trade in endangered species, CITES.

Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean's fisheries programme, said the outcome was a disgrace with the European Union squarely to blame.

"ICCAT's string of successive failures leaves us little option now but to seek effective remedies through trade measures and extending the boycott of retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers," he added.

WWF says it will now push for trade in bluefin tuna to be controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

CITES next meets in Doha in January 2010 with proposals for listings required by August next year.

Observers say that the negotiations in Marrakech were dirtier than at any time in recent memory, with European officials threatening small Caribbean countries with trade retaliation against their banana exports should they vote in favour of lower catch limits and extended closed seasons.

Conservationists say the option of a moratorium, which ICCAT's scientific panel said would lead to the quickest recovery in bluefin stock and the best future prospects for a long-term sustainable fishery, was not even considered by the commission in Marrakech despite growing support for this option among European fishermen.

Conservation organisation Oceana said the new catch limits were "disastrous" for bluefin tuna.

Xavier Pastor, executive director for Oceana in Europe, said: "ICCAT's credibility has been destroyed by the negotiating countries who opposed responsible management measures for bluefin tuna.

"Instead of preserving the bluefin tuna stock from collapse, they gave in to the fishing industry's short-term economic interests. With this decision, we can only wait for the disappearance of bluefin tuna."

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had pushed for cuts to the eastern and Mediterranean bluefin tuna catch. The catch level for the western Atlantic stock was reduced from 2,100 tons to 1,800 tons by the year 2010. The US proposed the cut from about 29,000 tons to 15,000 tons, but it was set at 22,000 tons.

"I am extremely disappointed with the results of this meeting," said Dr Rebecca Lent, the head of the US Delegation and director of International Affairs at NOAA's Fisheries Service.

"While the Commission followed the recommendation to reduce catch levels for the western stock consistent with the science, it continues to put the species as a whole in jeopardy by authorising excessive fishing levels on the eastern stock."

EU condemned on tuna 'mockery'
Richard Black, BBC News 25 Nov 08;

Countries involved in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna trade have voted to maintain catches nearly 50% above what scientists say are "safe" levels.

Environment groups labelled the move, by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat), as a "mockery of science".

They put most blame on the EU which, they said, used trade issues to bully smaller nations into giving support.

Earlier this year Spain and Japan had called for a suspension of the fishery.

Iccat's scientists had said next year's total allowable catch (Tac) should not exceed 15,000 tonnes; but on the final day of its annual meeting, Iccat members set a figure of 22,000 tonnes.

They also rejected the scientists' call for a closure of the fishery in the spawning months of May and June.

The scientists had warned the commission that "a collapse in the near future is a possibility" given the high number of boats engaged in the lucrative trade.

No mandate

"The spawning closure was probably more important than the Tac issue because actually the Tac was never respected," said Sergi Tudela, head of the fisheries programme at the environment group WWF.

"It was the one thing that might have stopped overfishing", he told BBC News from the Iccat meeting.

"The decision is a mockery of science and a mockery of the world; Iccat has shown that it doesn't deserve the mandate to manage this iconic fishery."

Earlier this year, an independent expert report branded Iccat's management of the tuna fishery a "disgrace", and put the blame on the shoulders of major fishing nations which, it said, routinely flouted the rules.

In 2006, Iccat scientists estimated that illegal fishing in the Mediterranean added about 30% onto the official catch figures.

The bargaining position adopted by the European Commission - which represents all EU members on Iccat - came as something of a surprise.

At the World Conservation Congress in October, Spain - the biggest tuna-fishing country - backed a suspension of the fishery, and Italy was reported to have gone further and called for a moratorium.

The EU's opening statement at Iccat acknowledged that "the situation of the bluefin tuna is critical", and that "urgent action is needed to ensure the sustainability of this emblematic stock".

The reasons why the European Commission decided, against this backdrop, to argue for catches considerably above the scientific advice are not yet clear.

Some conservationists at the meeting said the EU had threatened developing nations with trade penalties on goods such as bananas unless they backed the European position.

Conservation groups which have long lobbied Iccat members to adopt scientists' advice are now likely to take their fight to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

Numbers of the East Atlantic stock of bluefin have fallen so fast that listing it as a threatened species is a possibility. The southern bluefin is already categorised as Critically Endangered.

"The game is over - Iccat has missed its last chance to save the bluefin tuna from stock collapse," said Sebastian Losada, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace in Spain.

"It's time to take the fishery out of their hands and look to conventions like Cites to impose trade restrictions on the species."