A new analysis commissioned by the Pew Environment Group has found that the amount of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna traded on the global market in 2010 exceeded the official quota by 141%.
Two years earlier, the amount traded exceeded the quota by 31%. These figures do not account for “black market” bluefin missing from official databases.
This analysis highlights the gap between the quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna allowed to be caught in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the amount traded on the international market during the period of 1998-2010.
In 2008, in response to plummeting bluefin tuna populations in the Mediterranean, member governments of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) adopted stronger enforcement and trade measures. These included lower catch limits and a paper-based documentation system designed to more accurately record the amount of bluefin caught and traded. Pew says that the new analysis clearly shows that despite those efforts, significant problems with illegal and unreported fishing remain.
In light of the findings from the trade analysis, the Pew Environment Group urges ICCAT member governments to take immediate action at their annual meeting in November. Specifically, Pew calls for improving compliance with bluefin tuna catch quotas by ensuring that an electronic documentation system is in place for the 2012 fishing season.
“The paper-based catch documentation of the bluefin trade is rife with fraud and misinformation,” said Lee Crockett, who directs Atlantic bluefin tuna conservation at the Pew Environment Group. “An electronic system would provide more-accurate information that can be easily shared and cross-checked instantly. Such a program should also include a physical bar code for each bluefin, which could be easily administered and not be cost prohibitive. This would allow the fish to be tracked from sea to plate.”
