Galdes’s call for increase in Bluefin tuna quota ‘irresponsible’

Fishing conservationists fish4tomorrow has called for caution over calls by parliamentary secretary for agriculture Roderick Galdes for a substantial increase in Malta’s bluefin tuna quota, following the Agriculture and Fisheries council meeting in Luxembourg earlier this week.

“It was a relief to hear Commissioner Karmenu Vella highlighting the importance of heeding scientific advice when allocating quotas for Bluefin tuna two weeks ago, and it might be a good idea for Mr Galdes to consider adopting a similar approach,” JD Farrugia, speaking on behalf of the fish4tomorrow campaign, said.

Galdes’s call followed a recent report published by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna’s (ICCAT) Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS). “The report indicates that bluefin tuna populations are in fact recovering thanks to good fisheries management and this is definitely good news. That being said, the SCRS continuously emphasised that the scientific data is still very limited at this stage and must continuously be monitored to obtain a clearer picture. This is especially true for the Mediterranean,” Farrugia said.

The committee also remains concerned about the current fishing capacity which, it believes, ‘could easily harvest catch volumes well in excess of the rebuilding strategy adopted by the commission’.

“Although the Committee believes that bluefin tuna stocks have recovered, they argue that the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) should either be maintained or moderately and gradually increased for now so as to avoid another collapse. Therefore a call for substantial increase in bluefin tuna quotas is irresponsible,” Farrugia said.

“Considering the committee’s inability to agree on an exact number for the moderate increase, and the fact that illegal fishing activities were overlooked, we urge decision makers to take a precautionary approach and maintain the current TAC as well as improve data collection techniques. This would ensure that, when the time is right, quotas may be increased without consequence. We would also like to continue to stress the importance of small scale fishing operations as these are the future for ensuring sustainable fisheries rather than the current industrial operations which are ultimately responsible for this collapse.”