ID :
26760
Mon, 10/27/2008 - 09:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/26760
The shortlink copeid
Expert panel eyeing suspension of bluefin tuna fishing
TOKYO, Oct. 26 Kyodo - An independent expert panel has described the management of bluefin tuna fishing in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean as ''an international disgrace'' in a recently compiled report and recommends that bluefin tuna fishing in the areas be suspended immediately.
The panel, commissioned by the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas to review the organization's performance, will present a series
of recommendations, including the proposed fishing suspension, at ICCAT's
annual meeting in Morocco in November.
Restrictions on bluefin tuna fishing are expected to have a large effect on
Japan, the world's biggest consumer of tuna. The eastern Atlantic and the
Mediterranean provide the bulk of the world's bluefin tuna, with most of the
catch exported to Japan.
The panel said ICCAT's performance to date does not meet its objectives of
saving the endangered species, attributing the failure largely to a lack of
compliance by member countries and continued fishing above allocated quotas.
The commission's ''performance in managing fisheries on bluefin tuna
particularly in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea is widely regarded
as an international disgrace,'' the panel said.
''The panel recommends that all fishing for East Atlantic and Mediterranean
bluefin tuna be immediately suspended'' until member countries ''agree to fully
abide by the rules and recommendations of ICCAT and international fisheries
law,'' it said.
The panel said member countries have consistently failed to provide timely and
accurate data and to implement monitoring, control and surveillance measures on
fisherman and companies from their countries.
It called for stiffer punishments to be imposed on countries violating the
rules, including the introduction of large fines.
At its 2007 annual meeting in Japan's Kobe, ICCAT agreed to conduct an
independent review of its own performance against its objectives.
The expert panel consists of Glenn Hurry, chief executive officer of the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority and current chairman of the Western
and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Moritaka Hayashi, professor emeritus
of international law at Japan's Waseda University, and Jean-Jacques Maguire, a
Canadian international fisheries scientist.
==Kyodo
The panel, commissioned by the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas to review the organization's performance, will present a series
of recommendations, including the proposed fishing suspension, at ICCAT's
annual meeting in Morocco in November.
Restrictions on bluefin tuna fishing are expected to have a large effect on
Japan, the world's biggest consumer of tuna. The eastern Atlantic and the
Mediterranean provide the bulk of the world's bluefin tuna, with most of the
catch exported to Japan.
The panel said ICCAT's performance to date does not meet its objectives of
saving the endangered species, attributing the failure largely to a lack of
compliance by member countries and continued fishing above allocated quotas.
The commission's ''performance in managing fisheries on bluefin tuna
particularly in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea is widely regarded
as an international disgrace,'' the panel said.
''The panel recommends that all fishing for East Atlantic and Mediterranean
bluefin tuna be immediately suspended'' until member countries ''agree to fully
abide by the rules and recommendations of ICCAT and international fisheries
law,'' it said.
The panel said member countries have consistently failed to provide timely and
accurate data and to implement monitoring, control and surveillance measures on
fisherman and companies from their countries.
It called for stiffer punishments to be imposed on countries violating the
rules, including the introduction of large fines.
At its 2007 annual meeting in Japan's Kobe, ICCAT agreed to conduct an
independent review of its own performance against its objectives.
The expert panel consists of Glenn Hurry, chief executive officer of the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority and current chairman of the Western
and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Moritaka Hayashi, professor emeritus
of international law at Japan's Waseda University, and Jean-Jacques Maguire, a
Canadian international fisheries scientist.
==Kyodo
