Use of Spatial Tools for the
Recovery of Bluefin Tuna
Aguaviva Canarias
Las Palmas, 13 June 2007
Sebastián Losada

Overfishing is impossible
“ I say it is impossible, not merely to exhaust
them [fisheries] but even noticeably to lessen
their number by means now used for their
capture. For the last three hundred years
fishing has gone on… and although
enormous quantities of fish have been caught,
there are no indications of exhaustion.”
(L.Z Joncas, Canadian Ministry of Agriculture, 1885).

The bluefin tuna fishery
Unanimity amongst
s
scientists about high risk
of collapse of the stock.
At least 50,000 t/yr of
s
bluefin tuna have been
caught in previous years.
Big involvement of EU
s
fleets in illegal catches.

ICCAT Scientific Committee (SCRS, 2006)
90000
7000
80000
Spawning Biomass (mt)
6000
70000
5000
60000
Yield (mt)
4000 50000
40000
3000
30000
2000
20000
1000 10000
0
0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
YEAR
YEAR
1.4 600000
1.2 500000
Recruitment (Age 1)
F (Fully Selected)
1.0
400000
0.8
300000
0.6
200000
0.4
100000
0.2
0.0 0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
YEAR YEAR

ICCAT Scientific Committee (SCRS, 2006)
Current fishing is expected to drive the
s
spawning per recruit relative to virgin levels
(%SPR), and thus the spawning stock biomass,
to very low levels.
Current fishing mortality is more than 3 times
s
the level which would permit the stock to
stabilize at the MSY level.
This combination of high F and low SPR is
s
considered to result in a high risk of fisheries
and stock collapse.

A recovery plan for bluefin tuna?

Very little has changed
through the new
'recovery plan'
Same fishing capacity.
s
Catch potential 3.5 times
the level advised by
scientists (WWF, 2008)...
and increasing.
Same farming capacity.
s
New control measures not
s
complied with.
Unsustainable quota twice
s
the level recommended by
scientists.

EU Amnesty to illegal fishing by EU vessels
EU fleets are highly
s
involved in illegal catches.
EU regulations allow the EU
s
to make countries “pay
back” their over harvest.
The EU opposed the
s
creation of a WG to identify
those responsible for
illegal catches.

Use of spotter planes by EU flagged vessels

Eleven airplanes operating from Lampedusa
Greenpeace has obtained documentation (available upon request) showing that at least 11
different spotter planes have been operating in June 2007 from the Italian airport of Lampedusa.

Spotter planes owned by tuna associations?
According to documentation Greenpeace has got access to,
spotter planes I-RRPG, I-AGSD and I-OBSW seem to
belong to Associazione de Produttori Tonnieri del Tirreno /
Grupo Severion Gallo. This ownership was officially declared
to the Italian authorities.

ICCAT Circular #1823/06: Information
submitted by the EC on illegal fishing

Dossier Photos Medisamak “De palangriers non
enregistrés à l'ICCAT Pèchant en Mer Méditerranée”

ICCAT Circular #1823/06
Photo evidences

Transhipments
The purse seiner Vergine del
Rosario and the Panama flagged
reefer Daniela while transhiping
bluefin tuna on 11 June 2007.

Reasons for new approaches
Decreasing capacity will take some time... if it
s
does not even increase more in the short term.
CPs to RFMOs are failing to fullfil their obligations.
s
New control measures are clearly not been
s
complied with.
International fisheries management is completely
s
failing in the Mediterranean.

Avoiding the collapse of bluefin tuna
Seasonal closure in May
s
and June.
Effective protection of
s
spawning grounds.
Avoiding the catch of
s
juvenile tuna.

A tuna sanctuary in the Balearic Islands:
a joint proposal by WWF and Greenpeace

A tuna sanctuary in the Balearic Islands:
a joint proposal by WWF and Greenpeace
The waters S of the Balearic Archipelago are perfect
s
candidates to establish the first sanctuary for the
protection of spawning BFT.
BFT egg densities reach the highest levels ever
s
recorded in the whole of the Mediterranean basin.
Catches in the area have decreased in recent years:
s
Spanish and French purse seiners captured about
15,000 t in 1995, and only 2,270 t in 2006.
The area is outstanding for the reproduction of
s
virtually all tuna species occurring in the
Mediterranean.
Legal challenges: ICCAT, HSMRs.
s

To finalise...
Traditional fisheries management is failing and new
s
tools must be put in place.
Considerations over the positive effects of spacial
s
tools to preserve the whole ecosystem.
Wider benefits of these areas should be explored:
s
tuna sanctuary / maps of risk /...