In response to ICCAT''s recent meeting, where it set the catch limit for bluefin at 13,500, Susan Lieberman, Director of International Policy for the Pew Environment Group said:
"Since its inception, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has been driven by short-term commercial fishing interests, not the conservation ethic implied by its name. Only a zero catch limit could have maximized the chances that Atlantic bluefin tuna could recover to the point where the fishery could exist in the future.
In October, Monaco submitted a proposal to list bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, which would effectively ban the international trade of the species. Before ICCAT’s annual meeting, the Commission’s Standing Committee on Research and Statistics examined the status of bluefin and found that the species did indeed qualify for such a ban.
“When you adjust the new catch limit to account for overfishing and rampant illegal fishing by some countries and add in ICCAT’s poor enforcement and compliance record, the prospects for the recovery of the once-abundant Atlantic bluefin tuna are dismal,” added Ms Lieberman.
“ICCAT’s lack of action on sharks was also disappointing,’ said Matt Rand, coordinator of the Shark Alliance and director of Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environment Group. “ICCAT took only one small step forward for sharks, but we regret that no other steps were taken to protect many other vulnerable shark species whose populations have declined significantly in recent years. Member countries represented at this meeting also missed a golden opportunity to mandate that all sharks caught in the Atlantic be landed with their fins attached.”
