“Recovery Of Med Bluefin Stock Could Be Realized By 2016†ff
26 September 2012
Spain
The leading Spanish newspaper El Pais published an extensive article on the state of the bluefin stocks in the Mediterranean.
Bluefin tuna is a surprising species in many ways. Adults can weigh up to 300 kilograms; they are warm-blooded and can swim at 70 miles per hour. It also has a great capacity for recovery.
In 2006, after decades of overfishing and at the peak of demand in the global sushi market, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) created a plan that included slashing quotas; the amount dropped from 32,000 metric tons in 2007 to 12,900 this year - and a ban on netting any fish weighing under 30 kilograms.
An ICCAT preliminary report, to be published soon, details the remarkable recovery of the bluefin tuna population, which has left many scientists open mouthed.
Now, the latest available data indicate that the measure worked.
In 2010, the committee of ICCAT performed the first analysis of how the plan worked. It used data from 2009. ICCAT, which groups 48 countries, managed quotas and instructed to update the assessment in 2012.
Between September 4 and 11, the agency gathered around 50 experts from a dozen countries at its headquarters in Madrid. Present were also representatives from several fisheries, such as purse seining, trap netting (almadrabas), NGOs, the European Commission, a.o. At the “stock assessment of bluefin tuna session†a document was to be drafted for the approval by ICCAT early October.
The content, which is not yet public and is subject to changes (within its form, not of its main data) reveals optimism. This highlights that the catches of the trap net fishery has grown since 2007 and that the purse seine fleet is increasingly taking less time to complete its quota.
Among the data to be included in the report are the success of fixed coastal nets and the swiftness with which seine fishermen complete their quotas. Balfegó, in Barcelona, took just a week to fill its warehouses.
For years, fishermen have been voicing that there is much more tuna available than what environmentalists are saying, and now scientists seem to assume this thesis. “The current trend in the indicators is probably a positive reflection of recent management measures,†according to the scientific committee. Scientists say that since the mid-nineties to 2007 real catches of bluefin tuna were much higher than declared and could have reached between 50,000 and 61,000 tons. Then the fishermen used to track tuna schools with aircrafts, which was later banned. It was relatively simple for a purse seiner to catch a huge amount of bluefin tuna during the species spawning season, when they come together in the Mediterranean. The quota is now down to 12,900 tons.
“Since 2008, there has been a significant reduction in the reported catches, in line with more restrictive quotas,†the committee pointed out, adding that “there are methodological uncertainties.†“All of the models applied by the group show a clear recovery of the bluefin tuna spawning biomass, but the speed and extent of this upward trend are still very uncertain.†Nevertheless, the forecasts are optimistic, the report states. The results show that the bluefin tuna spawning biomass (the oldest of four years) was 300,000 tons during the late fifties and early seventies, then dropped to 150,000 in the mid-2000. Now, the biomass has been estimated between 295,000 and 380,000 tons, according to sources familiar with the discussions and requesting anonymity because the report is not yet public.
“With the recovery plan, the European fleet has stopped catching one million juveniles each year. Just this sole measure has had a huge impact on the stock.â€
Between 1990 and 2006, the demand for sushi brought the species to their limits.
The recovery plan for bluefin tuna has set a target of obtaining a 60% chance of getting the “maximum sustainable yield of the species†in 2022, which means fishing 50,000 tons without affecting the stock. Now, the committee says that by keeping the quotas, some models indicate that the recovery of the Mediterranean bluefin could be achieved before 2016.
Scientists point out that, given the methodological limitations in the next assessment -in three years- they will need to apply new methodology to estimate the population. And in the meantime, should maintain current conditions.
Sergi Tudela, of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said that “with all the current precautions, WWF welcomes this good news, which is related to the struggle towards the conservation of this species developed by this organization during the last 12 years.†He added, “We fully support the scientists’ demand to keep current management measures over the next three years, and encourage further efforts to eliminate illegal fishing.â€
The industry, meanwhile, begins to think that it is time to increase the quota, although not to the levels prior to the recovery plan, which –among other things- could sink prices.
WWF believes that “the example of the management of the bluefin fishery should encourage the European Commission, the European Parliament and the member states to adopt a new Common Fisheries Policyâ€.
