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Protecting Eastern Bluefin Tuna from Further Decline at ICCAT
The 20th annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas is taking place in Antalya, Turkey from November 12-18, 2007. ICCAT is responsible for the management of tunas and swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. This includes allocating quotas to Canadian harvesters of bluefin tuna (546 tonnes in 2007) and swordfish (1,296.2 tonnes in 2007) that are worth more than $35 million annually.
The rapid decline of the bluefin tuna stock in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea is one of the most pressing issues for ICCAT to address at this annual meeting. Continued overfishing of bluefin tuna in these areas shows a blatant disregard by some ICCAT members for the survival of these stocks.
Canada has long advocated ICCAT to follow the advice of science and adopt stronger conservation and enforcement measures to prevent further damage to bluefin tuna. We are also advocating all ICCAT members who fish this stock to stop the overfishing and illegal fishing to prevent further damage to this precious resource.
