Maria Damanaki decided to close the bluefin tuna fishery to Spanish purse seiners in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic on 9 June, due to the exhaustion of their quotas.
The bluefin tuna fishing season for large trawlers (purse seiners) in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean started on 15 May and runs until 15 June. Vessels from seven EU member states are active in this fishery (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus). The EU's overall quota is 5,756t for the 2011 season, reduced from 7,087 last year, of which over half is caught by the purse seiner fleet.
