Presidency strikes EU deal on plan for tuna recovery

The European Union has taken the lead in the effort to maintain sustainable fisheries of bluefin tuna in the east Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

On Monday 6 April, the EU Member States unanimously adopted a multiannual plan for the rebuilding of bluefin tuna, which is the most endangered tuna species in the world. The deal was reached after difficult negotiations led by the Czech EU Presidency.

The plan is a response of the EU to the recommendation published by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in November 2008. The European Union is the first of the parties to ICCAT to have drawn up its own plan. In doing so it has shown that it approaches the sustainable tuna fisheries with a strong sense of responsibility. All contracting parties to the Commission (besides the EU - e.g. the USA, Canada, Japan and the African countries of the Mediterranean) have to submit their own strategies by November.

The EU deal is all the more significant as it will enter into force even before the fishing season opens in mid-April. This means that the 2009 fishing season will be governed by new, stricter rules. Among other things, the plan:

introduces significant cuts in bluefin tuna quotas by 2011; - shortens the fishing season by 4 months (i.e. from 15 April to 15 June);
provides for restrictions on fishing in certain zones;
imposes a freeze on the EU’s fishing capacity on 2007-08 levels and its further reduction;
regulates sport and recreational fishing which, in some cases, can be as intensive as commercial fishing;
imposes a ban on the imports and exports of tuna caught outside the quota system;
provides for the drawing up of national fishing plans and the introduction of individual quotas for vessels over 24 metres;
reinforces controls and inspections so as to ensure enforceability.

Additional information:

Under the agreement of the parties to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the quotas for bluefin tuna catches should be substantially decreased in the coming years. Last year, the quota for the European Union was set at 16,210 tons, while the actual catch was 14, 963 tonnes. For 2009 and 2010 the quota was set at 12, 406 tons and 11, 237 tons respectively.