Atlantic Bluefin "Certification" System Riddled W. Fraud - 2X More Than Reported Actually Caught

[hatrack]

More than twice as many tonnes of Atlantic bluefin tuna were sold last year compared with official catch records for this threatened species, according to a report released on Tuesday.

This "bluefin gap" occurred despite enhanced reporting and enforcement measures introduced in 2008 by the 48-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which sets annual quotas by country, it said.

Trade figures showed that real catches of bluefin in 2009 and 2010 totalled more than 70,500 tonnes, twice ICCAT's tally for those two years, according to the report compiled by Washington-based Pew Environment Group.

EDIT

In 2010, the target quota - 12,900 tonnes for fish caught in the Mediterranean and Northeastern Atlantic - fell for the first time within the panel's recommended range.
But the new report implies the industry has circumvented the catch limits and tougher compliance measures. "This gap exists mainly because of loopholes in the ranching industry," Mielgo told AFP.

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/far-more-bluefin-sold-than-reported-caught-20111018-1lu5e.html

[kristopher]

1. Overall catch has dropped - the quota was cut by more than 50%.

In other words, the quotas are meaningless as a management tool. An important caveat to that is that the author did not look at illegal or unreported takes. The paper was strictly a look at the effectiveness of the existing policies for quota management. The recommendations made seem unlikely to me to have any real hope of implementation or of meaningful success if they are.

I think we'd be better off taking some of the management money and doing a comprehensive analysis of the level and nature of toxins followed by an extensive PR effort to make the public aware of the results. Demand side management, so to speak...

Conclusions
The overall legal and illegal catch of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean has dropped significantly since 2008. This is because of lower quotas set by ICCAT, planned reductions in fleet capacity by ICCAT member countries, a shortened fishing season, and enforcement of the ban on spotter planes over the Mediterranean. However, this fishery cannot be considered a success story because:
- The gap continues to widen between yearly bluefin quotas, the amount of bluefin officially reported by fishing nations, and the reported amount of bluefin traded on the international market.

In 2008, the amount of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna traded on the global market was 31 percent greater than the legal quota. By 2010, that gap had increased to 141 percent.
- Illegal or unreported fishing directly impacts the current and future health of the bluefin tuna population in the Mediterranean, which is already at near-historic lows after years of overfishing. If current fishing levels continue, ICCAT scientists have determined that the population has less than a 24 percent chance of rebuilding by the 2022 target set by ICCAT members.

Despite reductions in ICCAT’s yearly quota for bluefin tuna (in 2008, it was 29,082 mt, and in 2010 it was 13,525 mt) and a substantial reduction in fleet capacity, this report indicates that overfishing and fraud have continued, suggesting compliance still needs to be significantly improved, particularly in purse-seining and ranching operations. These efforts must be coupled with continued fleet capacity reduction plans, as overcapacity in the fishing and ranching industry is one of the factors driving illegal fishing and underreporting.

http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Protecting_ocean_life/Mind%20the%20Gap_English.pdf.