According to a marine conservation organization, Oceana, it has documented Greek vessels assisting in Turkish fishing operations. It says that illegal fishing of bluefin tuna still persist despite the European Commission’s emergency closure of the fishery. The crew of Oceana’s oceanographic vessel, the MarViva Med, observed the fishing operations of a group of Turkish fishing vessels which were accompanied by tug boats with tuna fattening cages.
Xavier Pastor, Executive Director for Oceana in Europe informed that despite the ban European community purse seiners continue activities at sea, illegally fishing and transshipping. He also added that if the vessels are not tied up in port and considering the current crisis caused by high fuel prices, the obvious question that comes to mind is: who goes to sea if not for financial gain?
Oceana opined that illegal fishing is common in this area of the Mediterranean. EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg admit that the there is countless failures to properly implement the rules, which have been agreed at international level, to manage the bluefin stock sustainably. It is true that fishermen didn’t like the decision of the EU fisheries as many Italian and French fishermen expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision and staged demonstration outside the offices of the EU delegation in Malta.
