Tag Archives: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
Bluefin Tuna Get It On off North Carolina
In November 1981, a fleet of briefcase-toting lobbyists, scientists, and political negotiators gathered in sunny Tenerife, Spain, to decide the fate of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Representing more than a dozen countries, including Canada, the United States, Spain, and Italy, the besuited men knew crisis loomed. Since the early 1970s, rising global demand for bluefin flesh had spurred fishing fleets—hailing from ports on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean—to kill untold thousands of the wide-ranging predator every year. Under this heavy fishing pressure, primarily driven by the Japanese appetite for sushi-grade tuna, the species careened toward collapse. During the meeting in Tenerife, the American delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas proposed a disarmingly simple solution: they would draw a line down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and split the bluefin into two separate stocks. >>click to read<< 08:19
The $2 million fish? Jersey fishermen calling on government to allow targeting the bluefin tuna market
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said Jersey should look to Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province, whose industry for commercial and charter boat tuna fishing is worth about $2 million a year. In recent years, fishermen have reported seeing an ‘abundance’ of Atlantic blue fin tuna – which are classified as endangered – around the Island in the summer months but there is a total ban on catching them for Jersey vessels. No such ban applies to French boats. French newspaper Ouest France reported that 5.4 tonnes of tuna were landed at Granville market last year. A single fish can be worth thousands of pounds. >click to read< 21:18
A controversial comeback for a highly prized tuna
“There’s probably no fish that’s ever been more politicized than Atlantic bluefin tuna,” said Golet, a University of Maine professor. “People get a passion for this fish. And people are making a living off of this fish.” The fish have long been at the center of a battle among commercial fishermen who can make a huge amount of money on a single fish, environmentalists who see them as marvels of marine migration, and consumers who pay a hefty price for them in restaurants.,, But international regulators say the species has recently recovered enough that it can withstand more fishing, and U.S. ocean managers implemented an increase of about 17 percent for this summer, to the delight of fishing groups. The decision prompted environmental groups to renew their calls for holding the current line on quotas. >click to read<08:30
Con groups disagree with NOAA decision to remove Western Atlantic bluefin from overfished list
The decision by NOAA Fisheries to remove Western Atlantic bluefin tuna is not sitting well with conservationists. Last week, the agency released its Status of U.S. Fisheries report for 2017. In it, officials announced that the number of stocks on the overfished list had dropped to 35, an all-time low. The Western Atlantic bluefin was among six stocks removed from the overfished list. NOAA, in a press release, said “significant scientific uncertainty” about the stock after last year’s assessment led to the ruling. >click to read<13:29
THE 2018 MAKO SEASON IS SAVED!
The United States and other nations recently finished up a week of tuna, swordfish and shark management discussions at the 2017 annual meeting of International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Marrakech, Morocco. The good news from overseas is that there’s a bluefin tuna quota increase coming for U.S. fishermen; perhaps even better news is that motions by some ICCAT delegates to shut down the North Atlantic mako shark fishery failed (though an increase in harvest size is forthcoming.),,, The final agreement focuses on measures to reduce fishing mortality and efforts to further strengthen data collection, while protecting opportunities for U.S. recreational and commercial fishermen to retain small amounts of shortfin mako sharks. click here to read the story 15:35
Nations decide to increase quota for Atlantic Bluefin tuna
Countries fishing the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean agreed Tuesday to expand the annual quota for prized Bluefin tuna to reflect an improvement in their stocks. Two officials at the meeting of the 50-nation International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas said that at the end of the meeting Tuesday, countries have agreed to hike the quota from 24,000 tons this year to 28,000 next year, with a further 4,000 added in each of the following two years. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been officially announced yet. click here to read the story 12:26
Turkey’s unilateral decision to exceed catch limits threatening Bluefin tuna recovery
Documents seen by The Associated Press and EU comments on Friday show that during an intense meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas early this week, delegates were angry at for announcing it would catch up to 73 percent more Bluefin than under an internationally agreed plan. Turkey said this week that its “longstanding and rightful demand” for a higher quota had not been met, forcing it to take independent action. Read the rest here 15:12
Bluefin tuna catch limits increased to 2,000 tonnes for 2015 Based on Sound scientific advice
A decision by an international regulator to increase catch limits for the endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna won praise from the Canadian government Monday, but a Nova Scotia ecology group says the move could hurt a species once devastated by overfishing. Read the rest here 20:02
UPDATED: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas increase’s quota on Bluefin tuna
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas on Monday raised next year’s quota on Bluefin tuna off the United States, Canada and Mexico by 14 percent to 2,000 metric tons. Read the rest here 13:22
Fisheries experts (Pew) caution against raising western bluefin tuna quota – latest science indicates the stock “has grown substantially”
Member nations agreed to hold the shared quota at 1,750 tonnes for the last several years, with Canada drawing fire two years ago for being the sole country to ask for 250 more tonnes of quota. Rachel Hopkins of the Pew Charitable Trusts argues that the stock remains depleted compared to 1970s levels, adding that U.S. fishermen haven’t been able to catch their full quota since 2003. [An increase won’t matter then, will it?!!] Read the rest here 15:05
U.S. Goals for the 2014 Annual Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
The United States is going to ICCAT (November 10-17, 2014 in Genoa, Italy) with the goal of reaching agreement on science-based management measures for shared stocks and applying a precautionary approach where appropriate, while preserving commercial and recreational fishing opportunities for U.S. fishermen. Read the rest here 15:08
South Africa: Nation Hosts International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).Convention of Tunas Meeting
is a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) that is responsible for the management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. South Africa will be represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, as well as a variety of stakeholders including tuna small scale fishers, in the meeting that will run from Monday to 25 November. [email protected] 11:59
