Raül Romeva i Rueda

BLUEFIN TUNA IN CITES

SUPPORT APPENDIX I LISTING

SAVE TUNA STOCKS

AND FISHERMEN’S FUTURE

Plenary vote: Wednesday 10 February 2010

WWF calls on all MEPs to support a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, under CITES, at this week’s plenary vote – by voting for listing bluefin tuna on CITES Appendix I.  By doing this, Parliament will vote to save bluefin tuna and secure future jobs for Europe’s tuna fishermen.

In the light of the dangerous decline of bluefin tuna stocks, science shows that Atlantic bluefin tuna meets the criteria for listing in Appendix I of CITES.  This has been endorsed by the Scientific Committee of ICCAT and the overwhelming majority of the FAO Expert Panel which assessed the CITES proposals.

The majority of Member States have declared support for Appendix I listing, including: France, UK, Germany, Poland, Austria, Netherlands ;

Italy is now ‘open to Appendix I’ and considering its position.  Spain seems still opposed to the proposal.

Listing on Appendix I of CITES could permit:

Low catch levels which would ensure recovery for the species.

European artisanal fishermen to continue fishing for bluefin tuna (see French proposal below)

Bluefin tuna (BFT) to be sold to the internal European market.

CITES Appendix I will only cut international trade and hence the flows of tuna to the Japanese market, which has been the economic driver for the overcapacity of the industrial purse seine fleets, and the virtual collapse of the tuna population.

NOTE: Appendix II listing would change nothing and only confirm the status quo, since CITES provides that pre-existing agreements on marine species, like ICCAT, override their listing on Appendix II. 

To date ICCAT has failed to manage tuna stocks, by systematically setting fishing quotas typically two to three times higher than the levels scientifically advised. The current quota for 2010 is 1.7 times higher than the level which scientists said would give just a 50% chance of rebuilding the stock. Listing in CITES App I will help ICCAT to efficiently manage the fishery by creating the conditions for setting low catch levels consistent with the recovery of the species’ populations.

BACKGROUND

EU position on bluefin tuna at CITES:

The Council will shortly reach its position on BFT for the CITES conference. Although several large Member States supported Appendix I listing at the end of 2009, France, Italy and Spain were not supportive.  Since then, both France and Italy have changed their position:

France: announced on 3rd February its official support for listing BFT on Appendix I of CITES, by ensuring that its artisanal fleet can continue to fish in French waters and sell the products in the European market (legally possible under CITES App I and EU regulation 338-97).  France will create an Exclusive Economic Zone beyond the current territorial waters strip (12 mn), which will allow fish caught in this zone to be sold on the EU market. This has been welcomed by French artisanal fishermen. (A similar Fisheries Protection Zone was already created by Spain in 1997).

Italy: Last week senior Fisheries official Mr Buonfiglio announced that Italy had agreed a 1-3 year moratorium on industrial purse seining and was open to support a CITES listing on Appendix I.  Hence, Italy has also acted to save its own artisanal fishery. Mr Buonfiglio publicly welcomed the official French support for Appendix I listing and called on France to set an immediate moratorium on industrial purse seine vessels.

Spain alone seems not to share the wish to preserve its artisanal fishery to supply the internal EU market.  In opposing Appendix I listing (as it seems), the Spanish authorities are defending the activity of just SIX Spanish industrial purse seine vessels – against the interests of the much more numerous artisanal vessels, which includes the oldest bluefin fishery in the world: the traditional tuna traps in the Straits of Gibraltar.

UK: On 3rd February Minister Huw Irranca-Davies officially confirmed the full support of UK for the listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna in CITES App I.

CITES Secretariat official announcement of support: 5th February;

“The Secretariat concurs with the majority of the FAO Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Panel, that this species meets the criteria for inclusion in Appendix I. On the basis of the available information… the Secretariat recommends that this proposal [listing on Appendix I] be adopted”[1].

Parliament’s plenary vote on CITES:

Next Wednesday, you have the opportunity to vote for saving the Atlantic bluefin tuna and for helping small-scale traditional EU fishermen to keep their jobs and future.

WWF urges all MEPs to

SUPPORT

CITES Appendix I listing for bluefin tuna

For further information contact:

Sergi Tudela, WWF International Fisheries expert –  studela@atw-wwf.org

Elizabeth Drury, WWF European Parliament liaison – edrury@wwf.panda.org

Isabelle Laudon, WWF France – ILaudon@wwf.fr