At the end of the one-month industrial harvest, debate over whether the Bluefin tuna faces extinction is in full swing
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Bluefin tuna are being killed at a farm off the coast of Catalonia in Spain. Most Bluefin are caught by purse seiners, boats with large weighted nets which enclosed the tuna when they arrive in the Mediterranean and Atlantic to spawn every year. The fish are herded into cages using divers and then brought to farms like this one, where they are fattened up and then killed.
The Atlantic Bluefin tuna population is in a perilous state. Since 1970, 80% of the population has been wiped out and scientists agree that it’s sufficiently threatened to qualify for protection as an endangered species.
The Bluefin tuna fishery is one of the most controversial in the world. At a meeting of the Convention on International trade in endangered species in Doha earlier this year, a number of countries asked for Bluefin to be given Appendix 1 listing. This is the greatest possible protection reserved for species under significant threat of extinction. This would prevent the international trade in Bluefin until the species had recovered.
Japan consumes about 80% of the world’s Bluefin catch. In Doha it worked behind the scenes to fight against the listing. It found an ally in Libya who forced a vote before countries could debate the matter. The listing was abandoned and the organization that currently manages tuna stocks, ICCAT, maintain control of the Bluefin fishery.
ICCAT is an intergovernmental organization responsible for the conservation of Atlantic tunas. Since 2006 its recovery plan has introduced minimum catch sizes and shortened the fishing season for the largest industrial boats in the fleet. But ICCAT has drawn international criticism for consistently awarding unsustainably large quotas to fishermen, and for ignoring the advice of its own scientists in setting these quotas.
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In the last few years many new control measures have been put into place, such as sending out observers to tuna farms and fishing boats and traceability technology, like that pioneered by group Balfegó which allows consumers to verify the origin of the tuna they’re eating. But these measures have no bearing on whether the legal quotas being set for Bluefin catches are scientifically legitimate.
Some say nothing short of a halt to industrial fishing will allow the Bluefin to recover. Yet it isn’t clear that ICCAT is listening. This year’s quota was greatly reduced but it still only gives the Bluefin a 60% chance of recovery.
With the closure of the industrial fishing season, all eyes are on the next ICCAT meeting in Paris this November. It will determine new quotas for Bluefin based on assessments that are currently taking place. Once again, politicians must decide whether to prioritize the fishermen or the fish.
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