Confirmat, la tonyina a punt de col·lapsar el 2012, almenys a la Mediterrània, si no ho aturem
Ens ho certifiquen els investigadors de WWF encapçalats per Sergi Tudela. Demà comença oficialment la temporada de pesca de la tonyina i la situació és pitjor del què pensàvem. La data del col.lapse s’acosta: 2012, si res no canvia, i és molt allò que ha de canviar. Ho porto enunciat en aquest bloc de fa temps. La darrera reunió de la ICCAT a Marraqueix en va ser la prova definitiva. Divendres, el programa Thalassa del C33 (programa al qual sóc addicte) hi dedica un capítol especial, en el qual participo denunciant, entre d’altres, com parts del sector no han sabut (o no han volgut) veure la magnitud de la tragèdia. a Marraqueix, alguns vàrem demanar la moratòria en la pesca de la tonyina vermella per preservar l’espècie. Enlloc d’apostar-hi, parts del sector, així com les administracions estatals (liderades per l’espanyola i la francesa) i europees (amb un galdós paper de part de la Comissió Europea), varen ignorar, fins i tot menysprear, les recomanacions científiques. Llavors ja dubtàvem que hi fóssim a temps, encara, de salvar la Tonyina. Ara ja sabem que fa temps que ens hem passat de frenada. Som conscients de l’impacte ambiental, ecològic, però també econòmic i social que pot tenir aquesta constatació? Em temo que no. La setmana vinent el Parlament Europeu haurà de votar el meu informe sobre la revisió de les mesures de control en el marc de la Política Pesquera Comunitària. Veurem com responen tots aquells i aquelles col.legues que en el debat sobre la tonyina em van acusar de catastrofista i en el qual ja vaig considerar que el Pla de Recuperació de la Tonyina era, més aviat, un Certificat de defunció. El Comissari Borg em va respondre, visiblement incòmode, que allò que deia era una exageració. Veurem què diu ara la Comissió. De moment, adjunto la nota de WWF, i algunes repercussions mediàtiques qu ja ha tingut com aquesta a Le Monde. (segueix…)
NOTA de WWF
As the Mediterranean’s bloated fishing fleets ready themselves for the opening of the bluefin tuna fishery, WWF has released an analysis showing that the bluefin breeding population will disappear by 2012 under the current fishing regime.
14 Apr 2009
Rome, Italy – As the Mediterranean’s bloated fishing fleets ready themselves for the opening of the bluefin tuna fishery tomorrow, WWF has released an analysis showing that the bluefin breeding population will disappear by 2012 under the current fishing regime.
Global conservation organization WWF reveals that the population of breeding tunas has been declining steeply for the past decade – and will be wiped out completely in 3 years if fisheries managers and decision-makers keep ignoring the warnings from scientists that fishing must stop.
“Mediterranean bluefin tuna is on the slippery slope to collapse, and here is the data to prove it,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “Whichever way you look at it, the Mediterranean bluefin tuna collapse trend is dramatic, it is alarming, and it is happening now.
“WWF has no choice but to again urge the immediate closure of this fishery.”
The population of tunas that are capable of reproducing – fish aged 4 years or over and weighing more than 35kg – is being wiped out. In 2007 the proportion of breeding tuna was only a quarter of the levels of 50 years ago, with most of the decline happening in recent years.
Meanwhile, the size of mature tunas has more than halved since the 1990s. The average size of tuna caught off the coast of Libya, for example, has dropped from 124kg in 2001 to only 65kg last year. Data gathered by WWF show that this pattern has been observed across the entire Mediterranean.
Before the age of large-scale industrial fishing, individual tunas could even weigh in at 900kg. The loss of these giant tunas – able to produce many more offspring than medium-sized individuals – has a disproportionately high impact on the reproduction of the species.
The huge overcapacity of fishing fleets, catches that far exceed legal quotas, pirate fishing, the use of illegal spotting planes to chase the tunas, under-reporting of catch, fishing during the closed season, management measures disregarding scientific advice – and the insatiable appetite of the world’s luxury seafood markets – have all contributed to this dramatic decline.
“For years people have been asking when the collapse of this fishery will happen, and now we have the answer,” added Dr Tudela. “Mediterranean bluefin tuna is collapsing as we speak and yet the fishery will kick off again tomorrow for business as usual. It is absurd and inexcusable to open a fishing season when stocks of the target species are collapsing.”
WWF is calling for the immediate closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery to give the species a chance to recover, while continuing to encourage consumers, retailers, restaurants and chefs to join the global movement to avoid the consumption of the imperilled fish.
There is also growing support to suspend international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna by getting it listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) when contracting parties meet in early 2010.
Font foto: © WWF-Canon / Ezequiel NAVÍO
Hola Raül, fa un moment he comentat aquest tema al Facebook. A veure si ens en sortim d’un cop, que al final les tonyines, si les volem veure, serà en fotos antigues. Ja ens en faràs cinc de com ha anat.
Ara, llegint amb més atenció el teu article, me n’adono de que s’estan prenent el tema de la tonyina vermella com el tema del canvi climàtic: “mira que en sou, d’exagerats!” Ai, la madre, ai la madre, que amb això de la tonyina no hi serem a temps, i pel que fa al canvi climàtic, doncs no se pas…. D’acord, no s’ha de ser derrotista, però el que sí cal ser és realista.