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Mediterranean bluefin catches continue to mock quotas and science

2009-11-12

Porto de Galinhas, Brazil: New bluefin tuna catch estimates show Mediterranean fishing fleets continuing to make a mockery of fishing quotas set by the beleaguered Atlantic tuna commission.

The new catch estimates – themselves likely to severely underestimate the effect of continuing rampant illegal fishing – are also around four times the level scientists estimate would give the collapsing tuna population only limited chances of recovery over a time span of more than a decade.

Scientists attached to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) estimated the 2008 bluefin catch at 34,120 tonnes, well over last year’s quota of 28,500 tonnes set under the discredited 2006 ICCAT “recovery plan”.

Last year, ICCAT set a 22,000-tonne catch quota for 2009 in a controversial response to its scientists’ recommendations for a quota as low as 8,500 tonnes.

The new estimates come as ICCAT considers radical amendments to management measures in the face of rising calls for an international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna and a supporting suspension of the fishery.

“New estimates lodged with ICCAT’s science committee show that one quarter of the latest estimated bluefin tuna catch would give us just a toss of the coin chance of recovering the tuna population by 2023,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, WWF Mediterranean.

Dr Tudela said he believed the latest estimates themselves were well under the real catch.

“To accept these figures at face value we have to accept a huge reduction in the amount of illegal fishing over the previous year,” he said. “I just don’t see the evidence or the reasoning for this miraculous drop in illegal fishing, while there is abundant evidence that pirate fishing remains rampant.”

ICCAT’s scientific committee notes that the estimates take no account of illegal fishing by unregistered boats.

The French navy reported dubious catch data and a lack of observers in intercepted Turkish bluefin boats, investigations are underway into the reflagging of vessels in Algerian waters and a Spanish study revealed laundering of undersize tuna through tuna fattening farms for the Japanese fresh tuna trade.

Opening the ICCAT meeting, chair Dr Fabio Hazin of Brazil said ICCAT had to set up “an efficient mechanism for the monitoring and control of the fishing fleets” and capable of “applying penalties proportional to the infringements detected”.

“We have been very much able to impose sanctions on non-members in the past and time has also come for ICCAT to show it does not have double standards, and that it is equally determined to also impose sanctions on its members in the same way it does with non-members,” he said.

Tuna commission urged to add fishing halt to trade ban to save bluefin

2009-11-07

Recife, Brazil – WWF, the global conservation organization, is urging countries meeting in Brazil this week to agree urgently on a temporary fishing ban for the beleaguered Atlantic bluefin tuna, as an essential measure to avoid imminent stock collapse.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is gathering in Recife, Brazil for its annual meeting, where the 48 contracting parties are under pressure to decide on measures that will ensure the long-term survival of a species that has long been the victim of illegal and over-fishing, disregard for rules and science, and being targeted by far too many boats.

“WWF wants to see Atlantic bluefin tuna surviving long into the future – both the amazing species and the fishing industry it has supported for thousands of years,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

“This is ICCAT’s role, to ensure the sustainable commercial exploitation of bluefin tuna, but it has failed spectacularly in this mandate and there is no option left but to stop fishing and let this wild animal recover. It is the only way forward, there is simply no Plan B.”

ICCAT’s own analysis shows that a moratorium will give the best chance of recovery to the seriously overexploited bluefin tuna stocks in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean.

The organization’s scientific committee analysed fish stocks at a special meeting in October, demonstrating with their data that Atlantic bluefin tuna fulfils the criteria to be listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as proposed by the Principality of Monaco and to be voted on next March – a step that would ban all international commercial trade.

WWF sees the trade ban as a necessary parallel measure to a moratorium on fishing. ICCAT’s scientific analysis also shows that a suspension of fishing is the only measure with a chance of ensuring Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks no longer meet the criteria for CITES Appendix I by 2019.

The tuna commission astonished the world with a scheme
for continued overfishing that it labeled a recovery plan.

“Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are sadly collapsing even faster than ICCAT’s reputation,” added Sergi Tudela of WWF. “For ICCAT to justify its existence and show the world it is capable of responsible fisheries management, how can it do anything but stick to the best available science, close the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery now and give the fish a breather?

"Anything else would be a slap in the face to science, a slap in the face to those who care about sustainable seafood, and a slap in the face to ICCAT’s own survival – if there’s no more fish, there’s no more fish to manage.”

The latest science shows that Atlantic bluefin tuna’s spawning population has declined to below 15% of pre-fishing levels – and may even have dropped to under 10%.

Meeting just a year ago, ICCAT’s members ritually tossed overboard the advice of their own scientists and did not even put the fishing closure supported by its own review on the agenda. The tuna commission astonished the world with a scheme for continued overfishing that it labeled a recovery plan but that WWF named a “collapse plan”. In response, increasing numbers of global retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers are stopping buying, selling, serving and eating this endangered species.

For more information: Gemma Parkes, +39 346 387 3237, gparkes@wwfmedpo.org

Notes to editor
 Footage and photos available on request
 For more on WWF’s tuna campaign, see www.panda.org/tuna

G20 finance ministers fail to reach green on climate financing

2009-11-07

St Andrews, Scotland – Finance ministers of the world’s dominant economies failed to reach agreement on the financing required for a global agreement to stave off catastrophic climate change, WWF said today as the G20 finance ministers meeting here broke up with no resolution to issues dividing developed and emerging economies.

The lack of progress made by the G20 in St. Andrews, follows another week of inconclusive negotiations in UN climate talks in Barcelona as the world heads towards the crucial UN climate conference in Copenhagen in a month’s time.

With the G20 now having considered the climate financing issue three times without reaching common ground, WWF remains sceptical about today's promise to make further progress before Copenhagen.

“The G20 Finance Ministers meeting turned out to be a mostly irrelevant sideshow on the way to the talks in Copenhagen in a months’ time," said Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland.

"Failure to come to agreement here is a major disappointment.

“This is a group that can throw money at collapsing banks but cannot find adequate figures for the far worse challenge to the global economy of a collapsing climate system."

In detail, the G20 ministers acknowledged the need to increase significantly and urgently the scale of funding but failed to make any reference to the sums required, estimated to be around $160bn a year of public financing.

They also failed to agree on new sources of funding for a climate deal, such as auctioning emissions credits and levies on aviation and shipping.

"Talk of a financial transaction tax which has the potential to raise hundreds of billions in new funding every year turned out to be a red herring without solid political support," Dr Dixon said.

The G20 agreed some principals on a mechanism to administer and distribute these funds but failed to turn these into concrete proposals and - despite last week's pledges from Europe - no new money was put on the table to help the most vulnerable countries adapt to a changing climate.

It is estimated the immediate need for the most vulnerable nations is around $10bn a year.

WWF endorsed the G20s continuing professed interest in winding back fossil fuel use subsidies, but said the group needed to focus its main attention on getting an effective global deal on climate.

“If we are to keep the planet below the danger threshold of a 2ºC temperature rise, the rich nations of the world are going to have to help developing countries follow a low-carbon development path and help them cope with the impacts of current and future climate change," Dr Dixon said.

"We wanted to see solid proposals on how the money would be raised, managed and distributed and an indication of how soon the countries most vulnerable to climate change will receive assistance. The G20 has failed to deliver and the real work will now have to be done at Copenhagen.”

Monte Rosa - melting glaciers and changing borders in the Alps

2009-10-28

Monte Rosa, Italy / Switzerland - High alpine areas are feeling the impacts of climate change harder and faster than many other areas.

The Monte Rosa massif, one of the highest montains in Europe which sits between Italy and Switzerland, is seeing it borders beeing thrown into confusion.

There are nine glaciers in the massif, including the Gorner glacier, second largest in the Alps but also the glacier that is shrinking the fastest losing 290 metres during 2007 to 2008.

Glaciers might seem remote, but hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend on them for water supplies.

Genetic tuna tracking opens new options in race to save fish and fisheries

2009-10-27

Madrid, Spain – A new method that uses gene sequencing to accurately distinguish between tuna species has the potential to support fisheries management and possible trade restrictions for endangered tuna species.

The new method, revealed in a paper published today in PLoS ONE, the online open-access scientific journal, can make an identification from any kind of processed tuna tissue.

The true tunas – from the genus Thunnus – are among the most economically valuable fish in the world and are also among the most endangered of all commercially exploited fish . They are not to be confused with the tuna most commonly tinned, which comes from related families such as mackerel.

The paper, ‘A Validated Methodology for Genetic Identification of Tuna Species (Genus Thunnus)’, co-authored by Dr Jordi Viñas, a fish genetics specialist at Girona University in Spain and Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries of WWF Mediterranean, proposes for the first time ever a genetic method for the precise identification of all eight recognized species of tuna.

Northern, southern and Pacific bluefin tuna are among the most stressed fish populations in the world, with the Principality of Monaco having lodged an application before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for a trade ban on the Atlantic (Northern) bluefin tuna where several fisheries have collapsed and failed to recover and the Mediterranean bluefin fishery is exhibiting advanced signals of impending collapse in the face of overfishing and decades of poor management.

The other tuna species are yellowfin, blackfin, longtail, bigeye and albacore tuna. Identification of traded forms of the fish, which can be dressed, gilled and gutted, or loin and belly meat, and either fresh or frozen – is a highly complex process, which has hampered conservation efforts and was a potential limitation to the imposition of trade controls.

The analysis of the DNA sequence variability of two unlinked genetic markers, one a hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial genome and the other a nuclear gene, enables full discrimination between all the tuna species.

"..findings are particularly relevant"

“This methodology will allow the identification of tuna species of any kind of tissue or type or presentation – including sushi and sashimi,” said Dr Jordi Viñas of Girona University. “The differentiation between different tunas, even those with highly similar genes, is now possible.”

“Our findings are particularly relevant for the highly overfished, overtraded – and hence endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna, for which there is a growing campaign to impose a temporary ban on international commercial trade,” added co-author Dr Sergi Tudela of WWF. “There will now be no trace of doubt when seeking to identify chilled or frozen tuna flesh at port or point of sale.”

The paper will remain available to download for free from the website of PLoS ONE and will be submitted to the relevant tuna fishing and trade management and control authorities.

(PLoS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLoS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world’s scientific and medical literature a public resource.)

Fishing for funds to be placed off limits for rule breakers

2009-10-21

Brussels, Belgium: European governments and enterprises continuing to flout fisheries regulations are to be denied access to EU public funds, according to measures agreed by the EU Fisheries Council this week.

WWF has welcomed the Control and Enforcement Regulation creates a common system of rules and sanctions to be applied at national level in Europe.

“Existing rules have been applied poorly or not at all, disadvantaging fishermen and governments who played by the rules. Illegal fishing continues to be a huge threat to healthy fish stocks and profitable fisheries," said Aaron Mc Loughlin, Head of the European Marine Programme at WWF's European Policy Office.

When some fishing nations raised last minute objections to the Article 95 sanctions on public funding for rule breaking nations and fishers, WWF wrote to the EU noting that "the fishery sector is the only sector covered by Community law in which funds are still distributed to Member States with perfect impunity, without being conditioned upon compliance with control rules."

It was "common sense" that there be provisions "setting down countermeasures in suspending and reducing financial aid in cases in which Member States continue to show no intention of stopping persistent and serious infringements," the letter said.

The nations, led by France, had sought to have serious infringements dealt with by application to the European Court of Justice. However, WWF noted that "It took over 24 years for the Court of Justice to order France to pay penalties because of failing to carry out controls of fishing activities in accordance with the requirements laid down by the Community provisions".

WWF strongly believes that measures to tackle illegal fishing inside and outside EU waters are to be implemented as soon as possible starting from the 1st of January 2010.

Civil society wants sustainable growth package from G-20

2009-04-02

WWF International Director General James Leape and others have signed an open letter addressed to G-20 heads of state on behalf of an "international global coalition for a green economy” asking the group to pick an economic stimulus package that supports sustainable growth.

Signatories include top leaders from environment, development, business and labour groups, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development.

“We urge you to ensure that the entirety of the G20 emergency package supports three goals: (1) building economic resilience; (2) social justice and distributional equity by promoting decent work for all; (3) protection and sustainable use of the environment,” Leape and others wrote in the letter.

The letter goes on to ask G-20 leaders “to allocate $750 billion of this stimulus package, which is around 1% of global GDP, to investments that will build an inclusive and green economy.”

Established in 1999, the Group of Twenty, known better as the G-20, is composed of finance ministers, political leaders and central bank governors and aims to bring together industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy, according to its website. Heads of state are currently meeting to participate in the G-20 in London.

Download the letter here.

Farmed fish and shrimps need sustainability boost

2009-03-02

Aquaculture, revealed in a key UN analysis today to be the basis of all future growth in global seafood production, desparately needs to be put on a more sustainable basis, leading global environment organization WWF said today.

State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008 (SOFIA 2008), released this morning by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that food supplies from aquaculture now equal those from ocean and freshwater capture fisheries. The report also documents a continuing drop-off in yields from the world's marine capture fisheries, with FAO saying "more closely controlled approaches to fisheries management" are needed.

"The dramatic growth in aquaculture makes it more and more urgent to ensure that aquaculture becomes more sustainable and that supplying the stock and the feed for fish farming becomes less of a burden on traditional fisheries,” said Miguel Jorge, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme.

“Coastal aquaculture must also stop making inroads into fish habitat such as mangrove areas, it must becomes less polluting and less of a disease risk and it must be carried out without making communities more vulnerable to natural disasters."

A series of Aquaculture Dialogues, coordinated by WWF and involving more than 2,000 farmers, NGOs and scientists are currently creating global standards to minimize the key environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture.

Consideration is now being given to whether the standards – initially for the 12 species with the greatest economic and environmental impact – should be administered by a body similar to the Marine Stewardship Council, the leading sustainability certification scheme for marine capture fisheries.

SOFIA 2008 also recorded a rise to 80 per cent in the number of fisheries that are fully or over-exploited, adding yet more weight to predictions that collapsing fish stocks threaten food security in developing countries and the viability of fisheries and coastal communities across the world.

Long -promised action on trade, unsustainable fishing fleet subsidies and protection for marine resources has again been unforthcoming.

“Once again, the leading global fisheries analysis has come out to say the state of of the world’s fisheries is worse than we thought it was,” said Jorge.

“Indeed we and many other analysts believe that the real position of the oceans is much, much worse than the gloomy report from Rome this morning as little account of is taken of rampant illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

“Also, in many cases, even legal fishing quotas have no relationship to actual fish stocks. To take possibly the best known example, the legal quota of Mediterranean bluefin tuna is around twice what the scientists recommend and the illegal catch is equal to the already inflated legal quota.”

WWF is calling urgently for fisheries to be managed in line with scientific advice, for more closed seasons and areas to allow stocks to recover, for massive reductions in bycatch and discards in fishing and for an end to the subsidies that distort the relationship between fishing effort and the fishing resource.

For further information:
Phil Dickie, WWF International News Editor, pdickie@wwfint.org, Ph +41 79 7031952

WWF gives Europe a roadmap to Copenhagen

2009-02-27

Brussels, Belgium: With a series of critical European Union meetings on a new global climate deal about to begin, WWF has set out what Europe needs to do to grow in a green way while contributing to helping the world avoid passing the 2 degree threshold of warming that presents unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change.

“There is a clear link to be made between ambitious climate policies and a new phase of economic growth,” said Stephan Singer, Director of Energy Programme at WWF International.

“The recent financial bailouts prove that when governments decide to fix a problem, money and regulatory instruments are there. There is no excuse to treat the climate crisis with less support and attention.”

The WWF roadmap to a successful new global agreement in Copenhagen in December would see Europe radically strengthen its announced commitments of cutting emissions by just 20 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2050.

European environment ministers will consider target developed and undeveloped country emissions to take to Copenhagen at Monday’s EU Environment Council meeting in Brussels.

Commit to zero net emissions

Based on various studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios, WWF says that emissions will have to be reduced by at least 80 percent by 2050 globally to keep warming below 2°C. In compliance with its fair share of responsibility, the EU must commit to net zero emissions by 2050.

The IPCC also said that industrial countries will have to reduce their greenhouse gases by between 25 and 40% by 2020. The current EU target is only 20%, with a possibility to increase to 30% if other developed nations will join an international agreement.

These targets are clearly at the lower end of the IPCC scale, and even lower in reality considering that EU countries are allowed to fulfil up to two thirds of their commitment by way of certificates for projects in developing countries (the so-called CDM credits).

At the forthcoming Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) meeting on Tuesday March 10, European finance ministers will consider both the plan to boost economic recovery in Europe and financing climate protection measures.

WWF said Ecofin must come to grips with the fact that so far EU countries have failed to seriously face the challenge and to see the opportunities created by a greener economy.

Today, the fossil fuel energy sector in the EU-15 countries still receives about €20 billion of subsidies, equal to 0.2% Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Europe imports about 4.8 billion barrels of oil per year, equal to 3% of GDP. Natural gas imports are another 3% of GDP.

According to the European Commission, between 600,000 and 900,000 jobs can be created by renewable energy by 2020, compared to today’s 150,000 jobs. As a comparison, the cement and the steel sectors – some of those crying wolf about strong climate measure – employ about 60,000 and 300,000 people respectively.

With finance to developing countries being touted as a make or break issue at Copenhagen, WWF is calling for European contributions for clean technology and reduced deforestation in developing countries to
amount to €35 billion per year, in addition to the long-time promised 0.7% GDP for development aid.

Funding of climate protection measures (avoidance, adaptation and forest protection) needs to be sustainable, predictable and controlled in a transparent manner by the international community.

The European Commission’s current proposal also fails to address the enormous potential of energy efficiency, with an almost complete lack of concrete proposals for technology co-operation.

WWF says that the EU financing of technology development and research should be increased by a factor of 10 compared to current levels by 2020, particularly for renewable energies, energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The EU should also promote the setting up of a technology action programme under the UNFCCC to protect intellectual property rights and promote innovation.

Outcomes from the Ecofin and Environment Council meetings are scheduled to be considered by EU Heads of State at a European Council meeting on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th March. Some issues however may carry over to when Sweden assumes the presidency of the EU

Earth Hour 2009 setting new records in climate concern

2009-02-05

Already twice the participating countries of Earth Hour 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads call for action on climate change
Obama artist Shepard Fairey likens flicking switch to climate vote

With eight weeks still to go, citizens, businesses and public authorities in 375 cities across 74 countries have already committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March in a graphic show of support for decisive action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.

The WWF-sponsored event continues to show amazing momentum, from being a Sydney, Australia awareness-raising event in 2007, to the astounding 371 cities across 35 countries total last year. As participation for Earth Hour 2009 storms past this level of municipal involvement in more than twice the number of countries, discussions are under way or nearing completion in hundreds of other cities.

WWF Director General, Mr James Leape, said he is optimistic about the campaign’s potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change.

“With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change,” he said.

Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101.

A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also lent their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

Shepard Fairey, the artist noted for his graphic portrayals of Barack Obama during the recent US Presidential Election, has likened flicking the switch to casting a vote on climate change in artwork for the Earth Hour campaign.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said the 2009 campaign as an opportunity for the people of the world to cast their vote on this important global issue.

"Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals, from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change”, said Mr Ridley.

2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

Battered sharks get critical listing

2008-12-05

Rome, Italy: Four commercially valuable shark species have just been recognized as being “of conservation concern” under the international Convention on Migratory Species.

The listing applies to northern hemisphere populations of spiny dogfish, a common ingredient of food staple fish and chips, and global populations of Porbeagle shark and both species of mako shark.

Intense debate saw southern hemisphere populations of spiny dogfish excluded from the listing on the agreement that a comprehensive population review will be conducted for the next meeting of the convention.

"WWF welcomes this listing by the CMS--the first listing by an international conservation convention of commercially utilized shark species,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, director of WWF International’s Species Programme.

“This shows that the world community now recognizes that sharks are over-fished, declining, and worthy of the kind of conservation concern afforded to other species."

The sharks have been listed under Appendix ll of the convention, which supports co-operation between range states on conservation plans for listed species. For migratory species it focuses attention on the status of the species and can help trigger other regional and international initiatives in fisheries management and trade.

The sharks, which are among the most valued of shark species for both meat and fins, suffer from excessive levels of targeted fishing as well as being bycatch casualties of other fisheries such as purse seining and long-lining for tuna.

The slow growth, late maturity, small litters and long lives of sharks make them vulnerable to over-exploitation. Porbeagle sharks gather together, making them especially easy targets for fishing – a critical factor in the collapse of their populations in the 1970s and continuing failure to demonstrate any lasting recovery.

Listing of all four species across their entire ranges was proposed but the porbeagle shark and the compromise on spiny dogfish were only agreed after intense negotiation.

WWF has also raised concerns over declining populations of Mediterranean bluefin tuna – subject of a recent International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) decision to continue fishing at well over scientifically recommended levels – as a species of concern before the migratory species convention.

Tuna commission comes up with "a disgrace, not a decision"

2008-11-24

Marrakech, Morocco - The commission tasked with preventing a collapse of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery today opted for catch quotas still far higher than its own scientists recommend and leaving industrial fleets free to scoop up tuna at the height of its spawning period.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, for the past week, brushed aside its own review’s description of its management of the bluefin fishery as “an international disgrace” to endorse a total allowable catch (TAC) of 22,000 tonnes for next year.

ICCAT’s own scientists had recommended a TAC ranging 8,500 to 15,000 tonnes per year, warning there were real risks of the fishery collapsing otherwise. The scientists also urged a seasonal closure during the fragile spawning months of May and June, while today’s outcome allows industrial fishing in practice up to 20 June.

“This is not a decision, it is a disgrace which leaves WWF little choice but to look elsewhere to save this fishery from itself,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean’s fisheries programme, speaking from Marrakech.

“Any alternative is preferable to an organization which boasts of its respect for science but where in a decade catches have gone from twice to four times the scientific recommendations, with massive legal and illegal overfishing. It is clear that the only thing to slow the fishery with ICCAT at the helm is running out of fish.”

The European Union drove today’s decision, supported by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria and later joined by Japan.

Japan had initially been party to a US, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Iceland and Brazil proposal, supported by a brace of developing nations, to fix the allowed catch at the upper levels recommended by scientists and closing the fishery for the full spawning period.

The debate has been marred by allegations of the European Commission threatening developing state members with trade retaliations should they support lower catch limits and extended closed seasons, with the names of some nations appearing and disappearing from the more scientifically-based proposals.

“ICCAT’s string of successive failures leaves us little option now but to seek effective remedies through trade measures and extending the boycott of retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers,” Dr Tudela said.
WWF has been urging a suspension of the out-of-control fishery, an option endorsed by the recent World Conservation Congress and recommended by ICCAT’s own internal high-level review.

The world’s largest bluefin tuna trader, Mitsubishi, signalled earlier in November that it would “reassess” its “involvement in this business” should ICCAT continue to be unable to sustainably manage the fishery.

“WWF will also actively push for a listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the hope that stringent trade controls tied explicitly to the survival of the species will turn around the half-hearted attempt at fisheries management shown here by ICCAT and especially its European contingent.”

CITES next meets in Doha in January 2010 with submissions on listings required by August 2009.
“Today’s outcome is a recipe for economic as well as biological bankruptcy with the European Union squarely to blame,” said Dr Tudela.

“Bluefin consumption in the main consumer market of Japan is expected to drop from 18,000 tonnes due to the economic crisis, with around 30,000 tonnes of frozen bluefin already in Hong Kong and Japan and additional unknown amounts in other Asian countries and in freezer ships.

“Our industry sources also tell us that there are 7,000 tonnes of illegally fished tuna in fattening cages across the Mediterranean that nobody wants to buy.”

The moratorium option, which the scientific panel said would lead to the quickest recovery in bluefin stock and the best future prospects for fulfilling ICCAT’s charter of delivering a long-term sustainable fishery, was not even given consideration by the commission in Marrakech despite increasing support for this option from European fishermen.

Thousands join bluefin tuna boycott

2008-11-20

Marrakech, Morocco: Close to 16,000 citizens from 149 countries have signed up to join numerous restaurants, retailers and chefs in boycotting Mediterranean bluefin tuna – until stocks have recovered and the fishery is properly controlled and managed.

WWF has presented the petition, on behalf of 15,941 concerned individuals, to top fisheries decision-makers today in Marrakech, Morrocco where the 46 Contracting Parties of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) are meeting to decide the future of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean.

“Thousands of consumers from across the world are voting with their wallets by not buying or eating endangered Mediterranean bluefin tuna,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “WWF hopes ICCAT acts on this strong plea from global citizens.”

As increasing numbers of responsible consumers say no to bluefin, the list of chefs, restaurants and retailers around the world that have stopped serving and selling bluefin is also growing. The trailblazers – Auchan in France, Carrefour in Italy, Coop in Italy and Switzerland, ICA in Norway, Moshi Moshi in the UK, and Memento in Spain – have now been joined by many others in taking bluefin off their menus and shelves.

These are Benoît Delbasserue French chef; Casino French supermarket; Coop Norwegian supermarket; Deutsche See German processor; Elior French restaurant chain; Gottfried Friedrichs German processor; M&J UK seafood supplier; Migros Swiss supermarket; Relais du Parc French restaurant; Sergi Arola, Dario Barrio, Karel Bell – Spanish chefs; and over 50 restaurants in Monaco.

“Bluefin tuna was one of the star items on our menu, but the critical situation of the stocks made me take it off the plates so that diners can keep enjoying it in years to come,” said Sergi Arola, Spanish celebrity chef. “I believe it’s my duty to take care of the sustainability of a dish as well as its taste.”

“ICCAT members are under pressure from numerous countries, international institutions, scientists and even their own review to close this fishery and allow it to recover,” said Dr Tudela. “Now they are also coming under pressure from more and more of their own citizens, their noted chefs, their leading restaurants and their leading marketers.

"It is time for ICCAT to take note of this growing market aversion to the tuna slaughter and to finally follow its so-far hollow boast to act in accordance with the science.”

Dr Tudela noted that should ICCAT fail to act this week in Marrakech, support would grow for moving from attempting to control fishers to using a trade ban to save the species from collapse.

Europe sits on damning bluefin tuna report

2008-11-14

Barcelona, Spain: A European fisheries report demonstrating continuing widespread infringements by bluefin tuna fleets despite increased fleet surveillance in the Mediterranean has been delayed until after the conclusion of next week's key international tuna commission meeting to decide on a new management regime for the fishery.

The existence of the report, revealed today by The Economist, undermines Europe's promise of support for strong action possibly including temporary closure of the fishery at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in Marrakech, Morocco.

It also undermines European claims that it is bringing rampant bluefin overfishing under control, with a summary hurriedly produced after repeated demands from the European Parliament noting that extensive consultations with fishers and improved surveillance and inspections had little effect on the low priority industry gave to ICCAT rules.

“After decades of ignoring the science, ICCAT and member states are now trying to outdo each other in rhetoric about how much the science must matter,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Fisheries director for WWF Mediterranean.

“The information gathered by Europe’s Community Fisheries Control Agency provides unprecedented data on the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery that would have been extremely precious for ICCAT scientists to make appropriate management recommendations.

“Shockingly, this valuable information has been kept hidden from scientists, thus undermining the quality of fisheries management advice – and the European Community, representing all EU Members States at ICCAT, must be held responsible for this.”

Earlier this year, WWF welcomed Europe's promise of vastly improved inspection and surveillance of the bluefin fleet and fattening farms by the CFCA, based in Vigo, Spain.

The Economist claims that a comprehensive CFCA report - the product of a €20 million investment in seeking to reign in the bluefin fishery - went to the European Commission in August and that an abbreviated version only was provided to the European Parliament’s Fisheries Commission earlier this month.

The abbreviated version is alarming enough, noting that “the level of apparent infringements detected in the tugs and the purse seiner fleet is considerable”, “the (illegal) use of spotter planes for searching bluefin tuna concentrations is still wide spread” and “as regards the recording and reporting of bluefin tuna catches . . . the ICCAT rules have not been generally respected”.

European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has said that the last management rules for this beleaguered fishery – agreed at a previous ICCAT meeting in Dubrovnik in 2006 – would work, as long as there was compliance with the rules.

“This latest evidence of widespread non-compliance, information that has been hidden from ICCAT scientists and decision-makers, should be case enough that the only solution now is to close the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery – pending a complete overhaul of the fiasco,” Dr Tudela said.

Italian fishers and Spanish legislators add to pressure for action on tuna

2008-11-03

Rome, Italy: Pressure for dramatic action to safeguard the Mediterranean's dwindling bluefin tuna stocks continued to mount last week when Italian fishers endorsed a fishing moratorium as “the lesser of all evils” and Spanish legislators called on their government to take the lead in establishing sanctuaries in key tuna spawning areas.

The new moves came just three weeks before an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in Morocco to consider new management rules for the fishery.

They also follow an internal ICCAT review labeling the fisheries management “an international disgrace” and calling for its temporary closure.

There was similar call from the majority of government delegates to the World Conservation Congress earlier this month, as well as the adoption of a strong negotiating mandate for the European Commission, a key ICCAT member, which could include support for a closure by the EU Fisheries Council a week ago.

“These signs from Italy and Spain are just the latest in a litany of calls for the closure of the imperilled Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

“Both a suspension of fishing and the creation of sanctuaries in main spawning areas will be key to the sustainable management of bluefin tuna in these troubled waters.”

A WWF report last month revealed rampant violations of the tuna fishery rules by the Italian fleet.

WWF welcomed the unanimous approval by Spain’s Parliament of the proposal for bluefin tuna sanctuaries south of the Balearics, in the Central Mediterranean, and in the Levant Sea, the world’s three most important spawning grounds for bluefin tuna.

Spain, which has the largest Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing quota, voted for the World Conservation Congress motion to close the fishery until an adequate management regime and other measures such as the establishment of sanctuaries can be put in place.

Spain, Japan back bluefin tuna ban

2008-10-13

Barcelona, Spain: Key fishing state Spain and key tuna market Japan joined with a majority of other countries to back closing the Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna fishery until it can be brought under control and establishing protected areas in the main breeding grounds.

The surprise vote tonight, by government and NGO members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, also calls for catch quotas to be nearly halved in line with scientific advice and for permanent fishing bans for May and June covering the entire spawning season.

“We didn't know this would pass, let alone pass so overwhelmingly,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries in WWF’s Mediterranean office. “Common sense is now promising to bring an end to the real shame in the international system of fisheries management .

“The message that we need to close the fishery now or have few fish and no fishery into the future is now coming from scientists, from consumers, from communities and from countries.”

The motion adds considerably to the pressure on International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) which decides on the future of the fishery in November, within two months of its own internal expert review labelling the management of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery “an international disgrace”.

It also follows a WWF report earlier this year that the tuna fishing capacity was at twice quota levels and a further report last week that Italy's largely unregulated fleet was in flagrant violation of the fishery rules.

Last month, ICCAT scientists also warned the Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna population was on the brink of collapse. A retailers' boycott of Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna, supported by WWF, is spreading throughout Europe.

The tuna motion, initially bitterly opposed by some countries that later voted for it, was put up by WWF, Ecologistas en Acción, GOB, SEO/Birdlife and the Government of the Baleric Islands, which is proposed as one of the bluefin tuna sanctuaries.

“ICCAT needs to heed the claim from the international community to save the Mediterannean Bluefin Tuna,” Dr Tudela said.

“This year's meeting will be the last real chance for ICCAT to show to the world it deserves the mandate given by society to manage this fisheries and avoid the collapse of the species.”

Italy in flagrant flouting of tuna rules

2008-10-07

Rome, Italy - Italy’s widespread disregard of fisheries management rules for Mediterranean bluefin tuna has been confirmed by a new WWF report – Lifting the lid on Italy’s bluefin tuna fishery – surveying Italian catches, markets and transfers to fish farms.

The independent and exhaustive report contradicts Italian government claims that the early closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery this year meant Italy would not reach its tuna quota, finding instead that the 2008 catch was a minimum 700 tonnes over quota.

This comes on top of findings that Italian fishers were 40 per cent over quota on the imperilled fishery for 2007, more than five times in excess of the officially admitted over-run of just 327 tonnes.

The survey was conducted for WWF by ATRT, the consultancy which earlier this year reported that Italy was Europe’s leader in fishing overcapacity for Mediterranean bluefin tuna, with an industrial purse seine fleet capable of catching double the national tuna quota.

“Fishing for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean is unsustainable and totally out of control. In light of the data in WWF’s latest report, the Italian government now has all the elements to combat this widespread system of illegal fishing,” said Michele Candotti, CEO of WWF Italy.

Today’s publication of WWF’s report Lifting the lid on Italy’s bluefin tuna fishery follows an expert performance review of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – ordered by the commission itself – labelling the conduct of the fishery “an international disgrace” just last month.

ICCAT’s scientific committee also just published last week its verdict on the Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock, confirming that some 61,000 tonnes of the fish were taken from the Mediterranean in 2007 – twice the legal quota – and that the spawning stock is in crisis, being only 36 per cent of its levels thirty years ago.

WWF will present its new report to the Italian fisheries ministry as well as to European Commission fisheries officials, urging prompt investigations into its findings.

The report also details how tuna fishing flotillas dominated by Italian vessels were assisted by illegal spotter aircraft operating from Italian airfields.

Other illegal or unrecorded diversions of the Italian tuna catch in both 2007 and 2008 occurred into fish farms in Croatia, Malta and Tunisia – in addition to unrecorded domestic consumption and mislabelled exports.

Italy’s official fleet figures of 185 vessels involved in tuna fishing and ranching are also rubbished by the report.

“Italian flagged vessels identified as positively or probably having been directly involved in bluefin tuna fishing and ranching during the 2008 fishing season inside the Mediterranean Sea in this report amounted to 283 units, of which 27 are longliners, 162 purse seiners, 73 trawlers and 21 tugboats, a sum much higher than official records showed,” the report said.

“Of these, 47 vessels were not equipped with vessel monitoring systems; 160 did not have fishing licenses; and 82 vessels were unregistered to ICCAT in 2008.”

WWF has welcomed the support of the independent review into ICCAT’s performance for an immediate closure of the fishery as a necessary step to avoiding its likely collapse.

“Italy’s illegal activity in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery is not just a threat to this magnificent species – but also jeopardises the future of those trying to fish this resource in a sustainable and legal way,” added Candotti.

ICCAT Contracting Parties will meet in Marrakech, Morocco, from 17-24 November 2008 when fresh management decisions on the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery will be taken. WWF is advocating an immediate closure – until the fishery is brought under control and sustainable management measures are put in place.

Stronger European climate action could have €25 billion health benefit

2008-10-01

Brussels, Belgium – Health savings of up to €25 billion could be achieved every year in Europe if the European Union immediately opted for stronger climate policies, says a new study published by health and environment NGOs..

The report. The Co-benefits to Health of a Strong EU Climate Change Policy, analyses the health benefits of reduced climate pollution if the EU increased its 2020 target for domestic greenhouse gas emission cuts from 20 to 30 per cent without any delay.

The study was commissioned by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-E) and WWF.

The findings show that raising the target to 30 per cent, in line with recommendations of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), would produce savings resulting from better health valued at between €6.5-25 billion per year.

The estimates are based on economic evaluations of loss of life and health, working days lost and hospital costs. The findings show reductions in hospital admissions of 8,000 per year, and two million fewer work days lost per year by moving to the higher 30 per cent target.

These health savings are over and above the benefits of the EU’s existing scenario of a 20 per cent target. The report shows that raising the target to 30 per cent would increase the savings by €25 billion, or 48 per cent, from €51-76 billion.

“Until now the discussion on climate change has been all about costs to industry and the economy, while costs of climate pollution to society have largely been neglected,” said Delia Villagrasa, Senior Advisor to WWF’s European Policy Office.

“It is essential to see that measures to promote cleaner sources of energy and reduce fossil fuel consumption will not only contribute to control climate change but will also cut air pollution and improve quality of life for European citizens.”

Judge calls time on Italy’s groundhog day

2008-09-26

Bolzano, Italy: As more and more regional authorities in Italy ride roughshod over national and European hunting law, at least one supposedly protected species has been granted a stay of execution.

The lives of more than 2,000 marmots, the large ground squirrels found in northern Italy and other mountainous areas all over the world, have been saved following a strident appeal by WWF-Italy, along with two Italian animal rights associations.

Despite being protected by Italian law, for the past three years provincial authorities in Bolzano have declared open season from September 1 (three weeks before the start of the hunting season) on nearly 2,000 of the furry creatures – known as groundhogs in North America – claiming they are harmful to pastures where cows graze.

Each year WWF-Italy has appealed successfully against the local law but the ruling has never been made in time to save the marmots. This year it staged a sit-in in front of the Bolzano administrative headquarters on 28 August and the law was repealed immediately.

“We are very happy that the regional court approved our request for immediate suspension of the decree,” said Massimiliano Rocco of WWF-Italy. “Otherwise, starting from 1 September, hunters could have shot marmots causing great environmental damage and going against the national law.”

Marmots play an important role in the Alpine environment and an equally important one in the food chain, particularly regarding wolves and golden eagles.

“This is the first time we have managed to stop the decree before the killing,” said Rocco, “but the wrongful and irresponsible behaviour of the Province, that every year repeats the same unlawful action, is unacceptable.”

The start of the 2008 hunting season in Italy has witnessed 15 out of 20 regions allowing the hunting of several migratory and non-migratory species including blackbirds, partridges, hares and rabbits well ahead of the 21 September opening date.

Seven regions even allowed the hunting of protected species such as sparrows, chaffinches and cormorants, despite the fact that the European Court of Justice cautioned Italy for such hunting in 2006.

This year, more than ever before, Italy’s regional authorities have challenged the law and threatened wild species during the late summer period when they are most vulnerable.

Collapsing fishery gets tuna commission a blast from own review

2008-09-12

Rome, Italy – Calling the management of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery “an international disgrace”, a high level review has called for an immediate suspension of fishing.

The still confidential review, commissioned last November by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), says the suspension should remain in force until the fishing nations that make up the members of ICCAT show that they “can control and report on their catch”.

Failing that, the ICCAT Performance Review recommends that ICCAT's own secretariat take over the responsibility for catch auditing and inspection.

The fishing ban should cover tuna caught for fattening in farms and ICCAT should consider “an immediate closure of all known spawning grounds at least during known spawning periods”, the review said.

The review was chaired by Glenn Hurry, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and current Chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Moritaka Hayashi, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Japan’s Waseda University, and Canadian international fisheries scientist Jean-Jacques Maguire, were the other members of the “independent” review established to follow “transparent procedures” in reviewing ICCAT.

Mr Hurry and his fellow commissioners noted that “the judgement of the international community will be based largely on how ICCAT manages fisheries on bluefin tuna” and concluded that “the international community which has entrusted the management of this iconic species to ICCAT deserves better performance from ICCAT than it has received to date”.

"collapse could be a real possibility"

ICCAT also drew criticism for “how little information and data are available” on bluefin tuna with the independent review nevertheless saying that despite the missing information “there are indications that collapse could be a real possibility in the foreseeable future, particularly in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean.”

“Such staggering conclusions from independent experts only reinforce what WWF has been saying for years – this is a fishery grossly out of control,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

The report cites the “the under-reporting, mis-reporting and non-reporting” by Contracting Parties of Mediterranean catches, large takes of juvenile fish and large spawning tuna, the fishing in former refuges and the continued expansion of the industrial fishing fleet.

“ICCAT Contracting Parties’ performance in managing fisheries on bluefin tuna, particularly in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, is widely regarded as an international disgrace,” states the review.
It notes an estimated 2007 catch of up to 60,000 tonnes, more than double the legal catch of 29,500 tonnes and disastrously more than the scientific assessment of a sustainable catch of no more than 15,000 tonnes, saying “It is difficult to describe this as responsible fisheries management.”

The review panel justified its draconian recommendations saying that “with the fishing activity largely unregulated, the stock possibly at the point of collapse and (Contracting Parties) either unable or unwilling to force their industries to comply, few options for recommendations were available”.

ICCAT Chair Fabio Hazin has urged parties to “be prepared” to discuss the report at ICCAT's forthcoming meeting in Marrakech in November.

Further information, gparkes@wwfmedpo.org