A tale of two fishies

Posted by jossc — 25 November 2008 at 1:07pm - Comments

Mediterranean bluefin tuna - kings of the ocean

Imagine you were in a car that was rolling quickly towards the edge of a cliff. The sensible thing to do would be to slam on the brakes as much as possible, knowing that it will take some time to stop, even with your best efforts and your foot to the floor. Another option would be just to take your feet off the pedals and hope it slows down in time. If it was an EU fisheries regulator who found themselves at the wheel, though, chances are they'd consult widely to ensure that they had the best advice possible on how to get out of the situation, and then totally ignore it...

All the available data shows that many fisheries around the world are in serious decline. Some face complete collapse (hence the 'falling off a cliff' analogy) unless drastic action is taken to end over-fishing and give threatened stocks time to recover. This can only happen by setting aside large areas of ocean as marine reserves, off-limits to all forms of fishing. But sadly the fishing industry itself still seems incapable of taking any meaningful steps to address the problem.

Over the past week we've seen more evidence of this; two bodies charged with regulating the industry in their respective neigbourhoods have been meeting to decide the fate of Mediterranean bluefin tuna and North Sea cod. And you'll be unsurprised to learn that each has ignored expert scientific advice to allow over-fishing to continue.

ICCAT has missed its last chance to save the bluefin tuna from stock collapse,
Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace

Bluefin stocks in the Med have sunk to such low levels that earlier in the year both Spain and Japan called for a suspension of the fishery. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)'s own scientists proposed cutting next year's TAC (Total Allowable Catch) down by 60 per cent top 15,000 tonnes, and closing the fishery completely in the spawning months of May and June. Greenpeace has also been calling for a moratorium in the fishery until the issues of overcapacity (too many boats) and illegal fishing (last year it’s understood that the amount of bluefin fished in reality was DOUBLE the legal quota) are addressed, calling for all known tuna spawning grounds to be protected as marine reserves, and for fishing quotas to be set in accordance with scientific advice. Yet, after much talk, ICCAT members rejected the closure idea and set an unstustainable 22,000 tonne target.

ICCAT's craven refusal to accept its own scientists' advice makes it likely that the next battles to save the tuna will be at meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Incredibly – Atlantic bluefin has been listed as an endangered species on the IUCN redlist for over 12 years. Can you imagine the outcry if this was happening to a more cuddly threatened species on land? It’s little wonder that the acronym ICCAT is known to many as the 'International Conspiracy to Catch All the Tuna'!

Meanwhile a new 'recovery plan' for cod in EU waters was also under discussion. It was agreed that the current situation, where cod is caught in a mixed fishery (alongside haddock and whiting) but quotas are set by species level, is in no one’s interest. Fishermen's complaints that this leads to them having to discard perfectly marketable cod appeared to have been heeded in the new agreement, which calls for a 25 per cent reduction in cod mortality. This would be achieved by adopting management measures like more selective nets, and closing areas to fishing where cod are known to be plentiful, or where there are an abundance of young cod. Obviously we welcome more selective measures in fisheries, and Greenpeace is particularly pleased to know that the fishing industry and government accept the important role of no-take areas in helping commercially important species like cod to recover and thrive.

"Ministers' disregard for advice puts them in the role of doctors assisting the suicide of a patient; because with this decision-making record, stock collapse becomes a certainty"

Prof Callum Roberts

So far, so promising. But then comes the kicker - in order for fishermen to continue making profits while these measures are in operation, they're demanding increased quotas of both cod and other species. As Professor Callum Roberts has shown, cod were once 30-50 times more plentiful in the North Sea than they are today, and last year's slight rise in stocks still leaves them at between a quarter and a third of the number needed for a healthy sustainable population - so any increase in quota would be disastrous. Yet once again that's what is likely to happen - over the last 20 years EU ministers have exceeded safe catch recommendations by an average of 15-30 per cent year-on year, (depending on the species), largely for political reasons. This year's December fisheries Council meeting will be the same old story – with ministers 'respecting the science' by ignoring the science. They do it to protect their own fishing industries, not realising that in reality, disregarding the science is condemning their industry to a slow death.

Time will tell if the brakes have been applied early enough, and strongly enough, for North Sea cod and Atlantic bluefin.

About Joss

Bass player and backing vox in the four piece beat combo that is the UK Greenpeace Web Experience. In my 6 years here I've worked on almost every campaign and been fascinated by them all to varying degrees. Just now I'm working on Peace and Oceans - which means getting rid of our Trident nuclear weapons system and creating large marine reserves so that marine life can get some protection from overfishing.

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