According to WWF all fishing countries should keep the fishery closed this year until a scientifically based management plan is in place that bans destructive industrial fishing. This will underscore commitments to follow scientific advice in fisheries management made in Doha, Qatar in March by several governments invested in the bluefin tuna fishing industry at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the largest international wildlife trade convention meeting.
Italy has imposed a moratorium on its large purse seine fleet this year and its commitment to scrap most of the vessels. This decision of the Italy has been welcome by WWF. The organization also urged other Mediterranean nations to also keep their fleets in port.
Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean, informed that Italy’s decision to keep its purse seiners ashore is to be applauded and upheld as an example to follow. He added that Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks cannot resist for much longer – by all accounts the species is endangered, with current populations dwindling at less than 15 per cent of what they once were.
Dr Tudela further said that a sound recovery plan for the exhausted species must finally be imposed when ICCAT meets in Paris in November – including above all a dramatic cut in catches to well below 8,000 tonnes. Commenting on WWF calls he said that it particular on the EU and Japan – the main catchers and consumers of this endangered species – to lead in honouring their Doha commitments to respect science in fisheries management.
