According to the report oversized fishing fleet for tuna putting further strain on the stocks of tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. The report says that the number and size of fishing vessels were at least one third more than needed to meet legal quotas. WWF’s Sergi Tudela told that the numerous new fleets are so modern and costly that fishermen are forced to fish illegally just to survive and worse still they are fishing themselves out of a job.
According to AAF the quotas agreed at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), are too lax to protect the fish, but even those limits are being flouted easily. The conservation group demand that countries like Italy, Spain, Croatia and Libya, failed to declare their full catches of tuna, circumventing the quotas which are meant to ensure the species survives massive demand from gourmets.
The report said that Mediterranean fleets would have to fish 42,000 tonnes of tuna just to cover costs, implying some 13,000 tonnes of illegal catch. The conservation group is promoting a boycott of bluefin tuna among consumers, restaurants and retailers.
