Not the Same Old Tuna – #2
Plenary, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

This is the first time that Robin des Bois has participated as an observer at the ICCAT debates. We would like to thank the secretary of the Regional Fisheries Management Organization and its member states’ for their current efforts and those in the future to prevent the irreversible decline of tuna and tuna like species.

All tuna species merit equal, fair and efficient consideration and all professional fishers have the right to exercise their profession and their invaluable know-how in safe and social working conditions conforming to all international maritime regulations.

Not the Same Old Tuna – #1
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

Already in the first hours of the meeting, the Japanese showed their inflexibility on the origin and the traceability of bluefin tuna, of which they are the principal consumer world wide. The Japanese delegation tore into the system of tracking and controlling which was put in place by ICCAT and implemented by the fishing-states. The exporting countries were carefully put in the line of accusation. According to Japan, the fishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea is illegally done. Miraculously, all the tuna captured weigh between 31 and 32 kg; the minimum regulatory weight being 30 kg. Japan estimates that half of the bluefin tuna captured weigh less than 30 kg. It is interesting that the compilation of 17 B.C.D.s (Bluefin Catch Documents) show 5,258 tuna captured and put in fish farms during 6 months and 6,350 tuna released. From the Mediterranean catch to the fish market in Tokyo, the list of shady transactions and breaches in regulation is long.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

Bluefin tuna, albacore, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, marlin and swordfish are just some of the numerous species directly concerned by ICCAT, created in 1966 in order to maintain the populations of tuna and tuna-like fishes “at levels which will permit the maximum sustainable catch for food and other purposes.” ICCAT’s area covers the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas such as the Mediterranean. This Commission also deals with species caught in association with fisheries targeting tuna such as the blue shark and porbeagle.

Conferences, symposiums, chitchat and roundtables… So far, Protected Marine Areas are large spaces in which everyone wants to protect what they hold most dearly, aka, their own interests, even when those are as murky as dredging muds. The road to bringing reason to the active minorities, who are often polluting the most, is still long.

La Rochelle is, in this regard, quite edifying. As part of the extension and deepening of the pleasure-boating port of Minimes – for the benefit of trimarans, catamarans and monohulls, 1 million m3 of radioactive sludge and other pollutants must be extracted from the access channel to the old port by October 2011, and these extractions will be scattered at sea around the Pertuis Charentais Natura 2000 site. This 456,000 hectare area is described as one of the most productive marine ecosystems within the French waters, and several endangered species such as sturgeon, shad, and porpoises reside there. It is also an important economic resource for the professional fishermen, who, thanks to diversified techniques, supply auction and regional markets. Oyster ponds on the islands of Ré and Marennes-Oléron are labeled as part of the Pertuis Charentais.

Only in French.