Greenpeace, Ecologistas en Acción and WWF/Adena have refused to attend a Wednesday meeting put together by the General Directorate of Fisheries Resources. The meeting was arranged to debate the application of bluefin tuna fishing regulations in Spain for the year ahead. These organizations have told the General Directorate of Fisheries the intention of not attending the meeting. They think that the current management plan supported by the Government does not take scientific recommendations into account and effectively condemns the fishery to collapse.
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 08-05 Recommendation, which regulates bluefin tuna fishing, was approved last November in Marrakech (Morocco) with Spanish support. The plan set a bluefin tuna quota of 22,500 tones for 2009. Some 7,500 tones or 50 per cent more than the maximum harvestable quantity scientists advise most optimistically to avoid the collapse of the population.
In addition, this management plan does not solve the major problem of the fishery: a highly elevated number of industrial purse seine vessels. Ecologists think it would end in disaster.
Sebastián Losada, the Greenpeace spokesman, has stated: “We are sure that thousands of tones of bluefin tuna will be illegally captured, due to the number of industrial ships used to fish bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. It is not necessary our presence to discuss about the application of a disastrous plan, which does flagrantly break the governments» obligations to preserve and use reasonably marine resources.”
In addition, ecologist organizations have reminded the Government that the article 15 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 08-05 Recommendation encourage parties to do a voluntary reduction of catches when fishing bluefin tuna. Spain has the world largest quota in this specie, more than 4,000 tones. Therefore, it must set a good example and voluntary reduce its catch rights.
Jorge Sáez, the coordinator of the Marine Affairs of Ecologistas en Acción, has maintained: “This plan only benefits the Mediterranean industrial fishing fleet. The plan will also destroy the craft fishing sector dedicated to the bluefin tuna. In addition, the support on the part of Spain to this plan has failed to observe a bill on bluefin tuna that was approved by the Environmental Commission of the congress on 29th October 2008 with the support of all the parliamentary groups, the PSOE included”
Raúl García, the head of Fisheries of the WWF, has stated: “We do not wish to serve as an accomplice of the extinction of the bluefin tuna; therefore we disagree with the current Management Plan. However, we will continue working on the conservation of bluefin tuna with the agencies that can effectively resolve the problem”
Finally, ecologist organizations have reminded the Government the commitment to support the bluefin tuna recovery plan undertaken in the Conference of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) held last October. This plan should set a drastic cut in fishing quotas and fleet capacity, protection of the reproductive areas in the Mediterranean Sea, especially in Balearic waters. According to some information from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), the most important areas in the world for breeding and reproducing bluefin tuna are found in the Balearic waters.
