According to WWF Athens plans for a second bluefin tuna-fattening farm would exacerbate over-fishing of the species in the Mediterranean. It is certainly not environment friendly plan and would hamper the marine life in the Mediterranean, says WWF. A WWF representative in Greece has informed that press that Athens’ authorisation of an additional bluefin tuna fattening farm shows the indifference of the country towards the protection of this species.
Yiorgos Paximadism — in charge of tuna with WWF Greece, opined that there is already a surplus of these farms in the country. It is told that Greece capacity is 1,000 tonnes but its 2008 quota for bluefin tuna-fattening farm in the Ionian Sea stood at 477 tonnes. The second farm, on the island of Crete, would add to this an additional 1,100-tonne capacity.
The organization, WWF, also criticized Athens for not attending the November conference of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which saw bluefin fishing quotas further reduced. Antzela Lazou, the head of Greenpeace in Greece, noted that this absence also shows Greece’s indifference at protecting bluefin tuna. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said ICCAT’s quota reductions for Mediterranean bluefin tuna measures are not sufficient enough to protect the demanding species.
