WWF has released a new study showing current fishing capacity doubling bluefin tuna quotas in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean and points to the need to strengthen the current capacity reduction plan.
In addition, WWF urges the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) this year to ban bluefin tuna farming.
At the 22nd edition of ICCAT in Istanbul (11-19 November), WWF says it will focus on assessing implementation of the current bluefin tuna recovery plan. In addition the Mediterranean swordfish will be high on the agenda. WWF urges ICCAT to adopt a management plan for this species, the first one ever.
Although efforts have been made in the last few years, new reports suggest that IUU fishing remains widespread in the Mediterranean, particularly in Libyan waters but also in Italy. The new WWF study on the fishing capacity of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery points out that huge overcapacity is still prevalent. In the period 2008-2010 estimates of potential annual catches amount to between 31,500t and 34,000t, considerably higher than the current TAC, leaving ample room for IUU fishing.
According to WWF, sustainable management of the bluefin tuna fishery still needs to be achieved and IUU must be fully eradicated. In particular WWF urges ICCAT to ban fishing in Libyan waters and to turn this area into a BFT Sanctuary.
Regarding tuna farming, WWF says a recent scientific study submitted to ICCAT Scientific Committee (SCRS) this year shows that biomass growth in farms is typically much lower than that reported by the farming industry (only 20-30%, compared to given values of over 100%), which raises concern over the potential for laundering bluefin tuna catches in Mediterranean farms. Full traceability in farms continues to be impossible as there is no way to know how much tuna is transferred to the farms.
“Fifteen years after tuna farming started in the Mediterranean, farms are still black holes rendering traceability an impossible task. WWF calls on ICCAT to either adopt a technical solution enabling full traceability in farms without delay or to ban the practice of tuna farming completely”, added Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
WWF urges ICCAT to ban bluefin tuna farming and to adopt an electronic catch documentation system (BCD) to allow for real time traceability.
On swordfish, WWF calls on ICCAT to adopt a science-based recovery plan this year including a mandatory capacity reduction multi-annual plan.
