Mediterranean tuna fishery a ‘travesty’ and ‘disgrace’
Japan’s Mitsubishi tuna importers to ‘reassess’ its role in industry
Raphael Vassallo
An independent panel of experts commissioned by the international tuna conservation commission ICCAT delivered a blistering attack on the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing and farming industries this week, calling for an immediate closure of the fishery in view of a “systemic failure” of the countries and companies involved to adhere to international law.
If the European Commission heeds this advice next year, there may be serious socio-economic consequences for all the countries involved – including Malta, where over 1,000 longline tuna fishermen stand to lose their livelihoods on account of the uncontrolled illegalities of a small sector of the fishery.
But the ICCAT panel is nonetheless adamant that the situation demands nothing short of a total closure.
Their report will be presented to the next ICCAT meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, on November 16.
And now, after the warning the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan – which buys most of the bluefin tuna from Mediterranean ranches and Maltese companies – has said it will be reassessing its involvement in the industry.
“Mitsubishi Corporation believes Mediterranean bluefin tuna stocks are in danger of being overfished if more effective conservation regulations are not imposed... If it becomes apparent that the sourcing of bluefin tuna cannot be carried out in a way that enables the industry to operate on a sustainable basis – protecting both the fish stock and the fishermen and their families whose livelihood depends on it – MC will reassess our involvement in this business.”
MaltaToday can reveal the conclusions relevant to bluefin tuna, which read like an inflammatory indictment of rampant lawlessness on the high seas. This comes at a time when the European Commission is still awaiting clarifications from the Maltese government regarding allegations of possible involvement in a tuna laundering racket rasied in late July by MaltaToday Midweek.
“The management by ICCAT CPCs (contracting party countries) of this bluefin tuna fishery in the Mediterranean is widely seen as an international disgrace,” the report notes, adding that the best estimate of 2007 catches in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean was “substantially higher” than the agreed maximum allowable catch, resulting in a serious risk of a collapse in wild bluefin tuna stocks.
“It is difficult to describe this as responsible fisheries management,” the panel observes. “It is a fundamental failing of ICCAT processes, of CPCs’ commitment to compliance, good governance and adherence to international law.”
For this reason, ICCAT is being urged to recommend the immediate cessation of all bluefin tuna fishing activities in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, until adequate monitoring and enforcement measures are put in place.
“This decision is the only way to stop the continuation of what is seen by observers and by other CPCs as a travesty in fisheries management,” the report points out.
“The international community, which has entrusted the conservation and management of bluefin tuna to ICCAT CPCs, demands strong and decisive action and clearly deserves better performance on bluefin tuna from ICCAT than it has received to date.”
No political will Turning its attention to the tuna ranching industry, the report outlines the basic symbiosis that exists between industrial purse-seiner fleets – responsible for over 70% of the total bluefin tuna catch – and tuna ranchers, who fatten and ultimately export these fish, mostly to Japan.
It also notes the bizarre discrepancy between the total quota for the eastern and Mediterranean fishery – which is set at 29,500 tonnes for 2008: almost twice the level of 15,000 tonnes recommended by scientists – and the amount of tuna that are actually inputted live into tuna ranches.
“Evidence shows that some 617 purse-seiners are registered to fish bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, and the farms have capacity to grow-out or fatten some 57,500 tonnes of fish annually.”
In other words, the total capacity of tuna ranches is almost exactly double the total amount of allowable catch: an anomaly which clearly illustrates the failure of contracting party countries to properly enforce the restrictions imposed upon them by ICCAT’s 15-year recovery plan.
Malta alone has a declared tuna ranching capacity of 12,000 tonnes – practically one-fifth of the region’s total, making Malta the largest tuna ranching entity in the world.
To achieve this, the government of Malta has often turned a blind eye to numerous infringements: such as the notorious “re-vote” taken by the Planning Authority in 2001 to sanction an illegal extension of four extra tuna pens in St Paul’s Bay. This re-vote went against MEPA’s own procedural policies at the time, and was taken on the insistence of the government’s representative to the MEPA board, Nationalist MP Michael Bonnici.
A more recent example involves a tuna ranch sited off Comino, owned and operated by AJD Tuna Ltd – a subsidiary of Azzopardi Fisheries. Its MEPA permit specifies “a maximum of four tuna cages”; and yet this farm has somehow increased to a staggering 21 cages. When alerted to this discrepancy by this newspaper last week, MEPA even defended the irregular extension, claiming that as the cages are currently empty, they do not need to be covered by a valid permit.
MEPA has been the direct political responsibility of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi since last March.
This apparent collusion between government and the tuna ranching industry adds further weight to the ICCAT panel’s observation that its farming regulation “has not been enforced” and that this highlights the point that “fundamental decisions of ICCAT are sound, however the CPCs do not comply and there are inadequate powers within ICCAT for enforcement.”
“The lack of political will to regulate this fishery properly causes significant distress for the international community,” the report adds.
For these and other reasons the panel recommends that: “in respect of bluefin tuna farming, all fishing for eastern and Mediterranean bluefin be suspended immediately until all CPCs involved in farming activities develop and implement controls necessary to effectively control, monitor and report the catch, transfer and grow-out of bluefin tuna in the farming operations in the Mediterranean.”
The new measures to be taken, among others, should include:
• The development of consistent auditable systems to monitor the number and weight of fish transferred into the grow-out cages;
• The use of independent auditors to randomly check farming operations with CPC representatives;
• The development of a strict penalty regime to be applied to member nationals or companies found in violation of the farming provisions;
Significantly, the report also notes that “bluefin tuna fisheries are sufficiently profitable to bear the costs associated with these increased management measures.”
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