NEWS | Wednesday, 22 October 2008

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Pressure mounts to close Mediterranean tuna fishery

Raphael Vassallo
A growing chorus of voices is demanding a total closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery, as regulatory body ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) braces itself for a highly contentious annual meeting in Marrakech in November.
The latest to enter the lists is The Economist newspaper, which warned that rampant overfishing might result in the collapse of the Mediterranean fishery, with devastating consequences for the critically endangered fish and local fishing communities alike.
“In the last decade there has been an explosion of something called ‘tuna ranching’ in many European nations,” the influential newspaper reported this week. “Here tuna are rounded up and penned rather than being landed (hence they do not count against the quota), becoming a form of aquaculture to be fattened up and sold on a few years later. They don’t breed, and no fish are added back to the wild population...”
Echoing calls made by international conservation groups such as Greenpeace International the World Wildlife Fund, The Economist calls for a temporary closure to allow stocks to replenish themselves: “(Mediterranean) countries should recognise their responsibilities. The gold rush is over. The plunder should stop, and bluefin should be given time to build themselves up again.”
This pressure comes just after the International Union for the Conservation of Nature voted overwhelmingly for a moratorium on bluefin tuna last week: both Spain and Japan - among the word’s largest fishing and consuming nations respectively - surprised international observers by voting in favour of the controversial move.
In addition, a team of independent experts appointed by ICCAT recently described the Mediterranean blue fin tuna fishery as a “travesty” and an “international disgrace”. Likewise, the WWF last week published its report on Italy, accusing the country of flaunting international regulations, and specifically of using countries like Croatia and Malta to launder its illegally caught tuna.
Malta is in fact the Mediterranean’s largest blue fin tuna ranching nation, with a total declared capacity of 12,000 tonnes. Harvesting is currently under way, although there are conflicting reports as to how much of the prized fish Malta’s five ranches currently contain.
In reply to a parliamentary question last month, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino claimed that the amount of tuna “produced” by local ranches is 4,235 metric tonnes. Of these, the Malta government claims that just over 1,346 metric tonnes were carried over from last season to this year. Both these claims are openly contested by the WWF, among others.
Whatever the amount of blue fin tuna fattened in Maltese ranches since last year, some of it is already on its way to the Tokaido market in Japan.
“Mitsubishi Corporation has bought bluefin tuna this year from Maltese ranches. However, we do not publicly release specific details regarding our suppliers,” an MC spokesman told MaltaToday in reply to specific questions about the amount of BFT purchased from Maltese ranches. “To the best of our ability, MC makes every effort to ensure that the BFT we buy is supported by the necessary documentation verifying its legitimacy and legality, and we have, and will continue to, decline to purchase BFT if there are any legitimate legal discrepancies. This holds true for all business transactions with potential business partners whether they be from Italy, Malta or any other country.”
The Mitsubishi Corporation has already publicly stated that it will revise its role in the Mediterranean fishery after the damning ICCAt report earlier this year.

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