Greenpeace and WWF call for urgent enquiry into Spanish bluefin tuna exports
Spain exported some 9,000 tonnes bluefin tuna in 2006 while declaring only 4,700 tonnes in catch
Madrid, Spain – – Conservation organizations WWF and Greenpeace are calling on the Spanish fisheries authorities to launch an urgent enquiry into Spain’s 2006 bluefin tuna exports, ahead of this week’s meeting of ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) in Antalya, Turkey, 9-18 November 2007.
According to recent data published by tuna consultancy ATRT, SL , Spain exported 8,964 tonnes of bluefin tuna in 2006. This figure is in stark contrast with on the one hand Spain’s allocated fishing quota of 6,266 tonnes, and on the other hand with catches declared by Spain to ICCAT – of only 4,722 tonnes . A preliminary analysis of 2007 data indicates a similar trend.
Mediterranean bluefin tuna is on the verge of commercial extinction, victim of excessive catches and rampant illegal fishing . The lack of control is evident across the bluefin tuna industry, and in recent weeks several new scandalous cases have emerged relating to the 2007 fishing season. France, for example, officially declared catches of more than 10,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna this year, far beyond its allocated quota of 5,500 tonnes. Furthermore, there were cases of trading ’paper quotas’, whereby fishermen illegally sold part of their quota to other countries while continuing to fish themselves.
„It is difficult to account for all these Spanish exports of bluefin tuna,” says Sebastián Losada of Greenpeace. „We are talking about 9,000 tonnes for a country which at maximum capacity cannot catch more than some 6,000 tonnes – but which also has a significant internal consumption rate. This new data should lead to an urgent enquiry – these figures would seem to indicate a high level of under-reporting in Spain.”
This Friday 9 November marks the opening of the annual ICCAT meeting, in a year where Greenpeace and WWF have once more highlighted serious illegalities in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery – despite a ’recovery plan’ approved last year . The European Union, original proponent of the plan, has already communicated to ICCAT that EU fleets have surpassed their quota by more than 25 per cent in 2007, bringing reported EU catch to some 20,000 tonnes.
„The incapacity of ICCAT Contracting Parties to respect the regulations in force in this fishery is a shocking state of affairs,” says Raúl García of WWF. „There is only one solution to the imminent risk of collapse faced by the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery, and that is the immediate closure of the fishery – until the population shows some sign of recovery, and until a management plan is put in place based on scientific recommendations.”
Media contacts: Gemma Parkes, WWF Mediterranean Communications, gparkes@wwfmedpo.org or +39 346 387 3237; Marta San Román, Greenpeace Spain Communications, +34 91 444 1400 or +34 680 400 645; Raúl García, WWF Fisheries Officer, pesca@wwf.es or +34 630 834 267; Sebastián Losada, Greenpeace Oceans Officer, +34 626 998 254
For more on Mediterranean bluefin tuna: www.panda.org/tuna
