EU Welcomes Cut in Bluefin Tuna Fishing Quota
EU Welcomes Cut in Bluefin Tuna Fishing Quota
The European Commission issued a communique on the 16th stating that it welcomes the agreement reached at the meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) held in Brazil on a plan to protect bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Under the plan, next year's bluefin tuna fishing quota in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean will be cut to 13,500 tons, a reduction of 38.6% from this year.
In addition, ICCAT also decided that, starting next year, fishing quotas will be determined on the basis of surveys of bluefin tuna ecology compiled by scientists, and that if fish numbers decline sharply, a total ban on fishing will be considered for the following year.
EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Joe Borg said: "These concrete and ambitious plans mark a decisive step forward in the management and conservation of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Our goal is to restore bluefin tuna stocks so that the fishery can develop in a healthy and sustainable way."
ICCAT holds a meeting every year to negotiate and decide the fishing quota for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This year, representatives from a total of 48 countries and regions took part in the meeting held in Recife on the east coast of Brazil.
In addition, ICCAT also decided that, starting next year, fishing quotas will be determined on the basis of surveys of bluefin tuna ecology compiled by scientists, and that if fish numbers decline sharply, a total ban on fishing will be considered for the following year.
EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Joe Borg said: "These concrete and ambitious plans mark a decisive step forward in the management and conservation of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Our goal is to restore bluefin tuna stocks so that the fishery can develop in a healthy and sustainable way."
ICCAT holds a meeting every year to negotiate and decide the fishing quota for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This year, representatives from a total of 48 countries and regions took part in the meeting held in Recife on the east coast of Brazil.