Fishing nations agreed on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 to cut by about a third the quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna. [Print...]
The move was denounced as inadequate by environmental groups who had called on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to agree to a zero quota and list the fish as an endangered species.
ICCAT, an intergovernmental body of 48 nations that environmentalists say has consistently failed to protect bluefin, said the annual quota for bluefin next year would be 13,500 tonnes, down from 19,950 tonnes. "I think it's quite an achievement and in full conformity with the scientific advice," ICCAT chairman Fabio Hazin told Reuters after a week-long meeting in Recife, northeastern Brazil. ICCAT's scientists said last month bluefin catches must drop to below 15,000 tonnes a year to stabilize their numbers and start a recovery that would one day allow sustainable catches of around 50,000 tonnes a year. Environmental groups said a quota of 8,000 tonnes was needed to give a 50 percent chance of a revival in stocks. Fishing nations in the European Union including Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus, Greece and Malta have consistently opposed sharper quota cuts.
