PARIS — November 19, 2012 — The international commission responsible for the conservation of the Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna agreed Monday to hold the 2013 fishing quota close to this year’s number despite modest signs of an improvement in stocks of the bluefin, the world’s most valuable fish.
Delegates of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or Iccat, recommended a total bluefin catch of up to 13,500 tons next year in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, up marginally from 12,900 tons this year.
A Canadian proposal to raise the quota for the Western Atlantic stock, which is managed separately, went nowhere, and it will remain at the current 1,750 tons.
Iccat’s bluefin discussions, held in Agadir, Morocco, differed markedly from some held in the recent past in which conservationists fought for quota reductions amid signs that the stock might be on the verge of collapse. This year, a stock assessment by Iccat scientists suggested that the Mediterranean bluefin population had recovered a bit, with fish mortality declining and stock biomass showing “a clear increase.”
The scientists warned that the data on which they based their models remains sketchy, partly because of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Mediterranean, and they called for a conservative approach.
The biomass of the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin has declined by about 30 percent over the last two decades, particularly since the onset of tuna “ranching” for the sushi trade, and the fish is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Conservationists generally welcomed indications that Iccat member states are following the scientific recommendations. “They listened to the scientists this time,” said Susan Lieberman, director of international policy at the Pew Environment Group. “This is an organization that has had a long history of ignoring the science.”
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