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Spain, South Korea and EC are among the states that have adopted different positions in the bluefin tuna fishing ban debate. (Photo: ICATT/NOAA)
Pacific bluefin tuna fishing to be restricted
 WORLDWIDE
Monday, September 14, 2009, 08:30 (GMT + 9)
Bluefin tuna fishing in the Pacific Ocean will be restricted next year, and will be made to return to prior 2002-04 levels in terms of number of vessels and fishing days.
The decision was made under an agreement reached by the Subcommittee of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, which met Thursday in Nakasaki, southern Japan.
The restrictions are expected to be put into effect next year after these are adopted formally during the Commission’s next meeting in December, Japan Today reports.
South Korean waters will be excluded from those restrictions due to the fact that the country is against the initiative.
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A map of the Pacific Ocean. (Map: Stock File)
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Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) announced its support for the provisional prohibition of the bluefin tuna trade of the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, a measure expected to improve stock numbers.
The government of Spain, in turn, clarified that it will wait for the results of the latest scientific reports to be released later this year before deciding whether or not it will back a temporary prohibition on bluefin tuna fishing.
Conservation organisation Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) sent a letter to Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, asking that he support the proposal to prohibit the bluefin tuna trade. It also openly differed with the stance held by the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM) to postpone taking measures ahead of the next meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
According to WWF spokesman Juan Carlos del Olmo, “international trade has clearly led this species to the [brink of] extinction, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the only tool to prevent it.”
In Japan, bluefin tuna is highly sought after in sushi and sashimi elaboration; whereas in Europe and the United States, its demand has grown considerably due to its health benefits.
Besides Japan, the nations of Taiwan, Spain and Mexico are also major bluefin tuna consumers.
Related articles:
- EU firms up bluefin tuna fishing ban support
- Decision on bluefish tuna ban delayed
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  NOAA/NMFSborrar
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