Reuters AlertNet Lite - EU, other states, cut Mediterranean tuna quotas

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EU, other states, cut Mediterranean tuna quotas

25 Nov 2008 16:25:18 GMT
Source: Reuters

RABAT, Nov 25 (Reuters) - States party to an international fish conservation treaty have agreed to limit the fishing of bluefin tuna, an endangered species, in the Mediterranean, European Union officials said on Tuesday.

But environmental groups said the new limits were inadequate and would not stop a sharp decline in the species.

Bluefin tuna, which can weigh more than 600 kg (1,300 lb), is often an ingredient in sushi. But stocks have declined sharply, in part due to overfishing by some EU countries in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Officials meeting in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh decided to cut bluefin tuna quotas by 30 percent to 19,950 tonnes in 2010, the European Commission said.

Scientists from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas had recommended a maximum quota of 15,000 tonnes to prevent stocks from collapsing, conservation group WWF said.

The ICCAT oversees protection of tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and neighbouring seas. Members include Russia, South Korea and Japan, as well as countries in the European Union, Africa, and the Americas.

The EU Commission said the agreement would shorten the fishing season by four months, freeze fishing capacity at 2007-2008 levels and help crack down on illegal fishing.

But WWF, a conservation group, said ICCAT's failure to adopt effective quotas meant trade agreements and tuna boycotts would have to be used to prevent bluefin from disappearing.

"This is not a decision. It is a disgrace," said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF's Mediterranean fisheries programme.

WWF said the European Union had driven the quota decision, supported by North African countries and Japan.

Environmentalists wanted a total ban on catching bluefin tuna during the spawning months of May and June, when most tuna fishing takes place.

Greenpeace said the new rules only reduced the annual fishing period by 10 days, calling the agreement "a disaster". (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Catherine Bosley)

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