WWF reveals huge overcapacity still in place in Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery

Illegal fishing remains widespread in Mediterranean

Although efforts have been made in the last few years, new reports suggest that illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing remains widespread in the Mediterranean, particularly in Libyan waters but also in Italy. The new WWF study on the fishing capacity of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery points out that huge overcapacity is still prevalent. In the period 2008-2010 estimates of potential annual catches amount to between 31,500t and 34,000t, considerably higher than the current TAC (total allowable catch, set by ICCAT at 12,900t in 2011); this leaves ample room for IUU fishing.

“Fleet overcapacity is a key driver for overfishing; the reduction in fleet capacity achieved in the last few years is still far from putting an end to overcapacity, as potential catch rates have been highly underestimated by managers. How is it possible that the individual quotas allocated to each vessel by national governments are in many cases far higher than the vessels’ catch capacity estimated by ICCAT?” says Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

WWF News
According to WWF, sustainable management of the bluefin tuna fishery still needs to be achieved and IUU must be fully eradicated. In particular WWF urges ICCAT to ban fishing in Libyan waters and to turn this area into a BFT Sanctuary.