EU closes bluefin tuna fishery early

June 2008. In announcing the fishery's closure, European authorities have highlighted the dire situation facing the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery - widely reported to be rife with illegal activity and massive overfishing due to bloated fleet capacity.

WWF welcomed the move by the European Commission to close the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery to EU industrial fleets two weeks before the official season ended - but reminds policymakers of the need now for urgent and more far-reaching fisheries management reform to avoid the collapse of the species. WWF is also concerned by the exception made for Spain, whose fleets were allowed to fish for an extra week, and asks the EU to correct this inconsistency.

"WWF believes this out-of-control fishery should never have been allowed to open this year at all," says Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. "Overfishing and massive illegal catches threaten the survival of bluefin tuna - fishing should be banned indefinitely at least during June, the key spawning month for Mediterranean bluefin tuna."

Milestone meeting 

A milestone meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT, the organization mandated to sustainably manage this fishery) takes place in November. WWF urges fisheries decision-makers to follow urgent advice from international scientists to enable the endangered bluefin tuna stock to recover and avoid collapse.

"What's needed now is a radical overhaul of the rules at ICCAT in November - the make-or-break moment for Mediterranean bluefin tuna," adds Tudela.

Until a recovery and management plan is adopted strictly following scientific advice - including the total closure of the fishery in June, a radical reduction of fleet capacity, a drastic reduction in total allowable catch, and perhaps even a multi-year closure - WWF continues to call for a moratorium of this fishery and the boycott of Mediterranean bluefin tuna by retailers, restaurants and consumers.

Race for the last bluefin 

WWF's recent report "Race for the last bluefin" uncovered that catch capacity of the EU's industrial (purse seine) fleets targeting bluefin tuna amounts to some 20,225 tonnes per year - more than twice the quota allocated to these fleets. In 2007, the European Commission reported to ICCAT a total catch of East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna of more than 20,000 tonnes - meaning an overshoot of the EU quota of more than 25%.

ICCAT scientists are meeting in Madrid, Spain from 23 June to 4 July to assess the stock situation of Mediterranean bluefin tuna, after which they will provide fresh management recommendations.