Bluefin tuna recovery plan unchanged

However, the organisation has expressed concern over the lack of traceability for this species, which prevents the eradication of illegal fishing. WWF has also raised an urgent call to improve the situation of the Mediterranean swordfish as no measures to help its recovery were agreed upon.

“We are very pleased that no modification was made to the Mediterranean bluefin tuna recovery plan. But we regret that no decision to properly trace the fish from the boat to the market was taken, especially at the farming level. Without a good traceability system we cannot ensure the full recovery of the species", said Raul Garcia, fisheries officer at WWF.

"But our biggest concern now is the Mediterranean swordfish. We have been asking for new management measures for too many years without seeing results. The situation is now critical and if no improvement is made in the short term, we might arrive at the situation that bluefin tuna was in a few years ago.”

WWF had asked ICCAT to establish an ambitious recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish, but no measures were taken. WWF is urging the EU and all ICCAT contracting parties to ensure the best data is provided in order to allow scientists to conduct a robust stock assessment and to put clear management recommendations on the table in 2016.

WWF says it also regrets lack of action to ensure sustainable management of the Atlantic blue shark and is very concerned by the fact that little action was taken to recover the overexploited bigeye tuna in the Atlantic

However, the decision to develop harvest strategies and rules to control catches for all fleets regulated by ICCAT was welcomed. This first step means that clear management objectives and catch limits will have to be established for all fisheries and these rules should indicate when catches have to be adapted to the status of the stock.