WWF warns of tuna shortage
Tuna in demand
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Wednesday, 13, Sep 2006 10:59
Some of the world's oldest fishing grounds have almost no bluefin tuna to be fished, the WWF has warned.
The western Mediterranean is particularly suffering from falling numbers. Tuna catches around Spain's Balearic islands are just 15 per cent of what they were ten years ago.
Mediterranean bluefin tuna farms have also experienced substantial decline, with a 25 per cent reduction of wild Mediterranean tuna that has been caught, put in captivity and farmed compared to last year.
Six Spanish tuna ranches have been forced to close as there was no more tuna to farm.
Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi, author of the WWF data, warned: "This new data points to the risk of economic collapse in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing and ranching sector.
"The Mediterranean bluefin tuna species is under threat, and many jobs in the tuna fishery are being jeopardised. The situation is alarming."
The WWF's findings were presented yesterday to the European parliament's fisheries committee, which is holding a special hearing on the bluefin situation.
Illegal activity is thought to be plundering the last remaining bluefin tuna, leading the WWF to urge the commission to support a "strict recovery plan" for the fishery.
Plans include closure of industrial fishing during the spawning season to save the last reproducing fish, improved real-time monitoring of fishing and farming activity, compulsory observers onboard all tuna vessels and in tuna farms and the setting of a scientifically-based minimum catch size.