WWF - WWF Turkey office

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

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.

‘Green Patriarch’ backs strong Copenhagen agreement

2009-09-29

The Christian Orthodox Church’s most senior leader has issued a statement urging world leaders to join him and his more than 200 million followers in pushing for a strong and fair climate deal in Copenhagen this December.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, nicknamed the ‘Green Patriarch’ for his longtime support of environmental issues, is calling on political leaders participating in climate change talks this week in Bangkok to agree on strong and fair measures to mitigate climate change in advance of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen this December.

Bartholomew is among a growing number of religious leaders from various denominations weaving environmental awareness into their teachings and activities. Last year, more than 400 mosques in Malaysia held sermons focused on turtle conservation issues to discuss the need for better wildlife protection in that country.

“The accomplishment of a good agreement within the framework of the international negotiations in Copenhagen does not solely constitute a moral imperative for the conservation of God’s creation,” Patriarch Bartholomew said in a statement issued this week.

“It is also a route for economic and social sustainability. Taking action against climate change should not be understood as a financial burden, but as an important opportunity for a healthier planet, to the benefit of all humanity and particularly of those states whose economic development is lagging behind. We pray for the achievement of the best possible international agreement during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, so that the industrialized countries undertake generous commitments for a total reduction of the polluting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent until 2020, compared to the 1990 levels, as well as for the provision of important financial support to the developing countries”.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the highest office of the Orthodox Church and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew serves as the spiritual leader to approximately 300 million Orthodox Christian faithful across the globe. Since his election in October 1991, Bartholomew has often spoken publicly about the moral imperative to protect the environment, according to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Demetres Karavellas, CEO of WWF-Greece welcomed the Patriarch's statement, saying: “The call for strong political commitment against climate change by the leading Primate of the Orthodox Church is a very clear message. It is time for world leaders to listen to this ecumenical message and achieve a binding climate deal at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.”

Turkey floods highlight need for climate change adaptation

2009-09-11

Istanbul, Turkey – Recent flooding in parts of Turkey has underscored the need to focus on ecologically-sound flood management practices to shield urban areas from extreme weather events, particularly those caused by climate change.

“The presence of deadly floods right in the heart of Istanbul first of all points at the insufficient infrastructure of the city,” said Dr. Filiz Demirayak, the CEO of WWF-Turkey. “Unregulated urban development and infrastructure have become barriers preventing rain water to reach the sea via its natural path.”

Turkey’s Thracian region and the capital Istanbul this week received a month’s worth of rainfall during two days -- or four times the total amount of average precipitation for this entire month -- causing massive flooding that led to the death of 30 people and widespread damage estimated at US $90 million dollars. Turkey's Meteorology Institute recorded 13.2 centimetres of rain fell in the area.

This week’s floods follow flash floods in July that killed at least six people in the north-eastern province of Artvin, and inundated more than 100 homes and businesses in the Black Sea province of Giresun.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life because of these floods and our thoughts are with the victim's families," said Demirayak.

Flooding occurred mostly because natural irrigation channels had been damaged and unplanned developments blocked the rain water from dissipating into the sea, WWF said.

“The insufficiency of water absorbing green areas and forests in the heart of the city is another factor that blocks water in the midst of concrete,” Demirayak said. “In the periphery of Istanbul and Tekirdağ river beds have been narrowed down, filled up by residential and industrial areas, thus blocking natural flood control mechanisms. The local municipalities and the government need to resolve the infrastructural problems of the city and prepare climate adaptation plan immediately.”

WWF warns that weather-related problems such as floods could worsen because of climate change unless ecological flood prevention techniques are adopted. These consist of river delta conservation and forest conservation. In addition, urban settlements along river beds must be closely monitored.

“Ecological flood management is the safest and most cost-effective solution,” said Dr. Demirayak. “If future damage is to be prevented, the climate change adaptation process has to start immediately.”

“The current infrastructure in Turkey cannot handle the consequences of climate change. WWF-Turkey calls upon the government and the municipalities to take immediate action for adaptation to climate change.”

Interest grows in neglected global water treaty

2009-03-21

Instanbul, Turkey: Delegates of 14 countries attending the World Water Forum tonight signed pledges of support to a growing call to bring into force a global water treaty that has languished in limbo for more than a decade as anxiety grows about the increased potential for conflict in a world increasingly short of water.

The pledges were made at an awards ceremony held at the forum by a coalition of leading international and civil society organizations to “celebrate the accomplishments of the world’s leading countries in international water policy.”

Recognised by the awards were the 16 countries signed up to the UN International Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (the UN Watercourses Convention) - Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syria and Uzbekistan.

The delegates said they shared WWF’s concern that the poor coordination in river basin regulation between nations “represents a major threat to international peace and to the world’s energy and food security.” The pledge also noted that climate change would worsen the global water crisis.

Countires make a start on internal approval processes

The pledge to push for more countries to join the convention was signed by Slovenian President Danilo Tulk, and government delegates from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Ghana, Greece, Iraq, Niger, Sierra Leone, Spain, and Syria. Internal processes for ratification have already started in some of the 12 countries at the event not already party to the Convention.

Dr Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestine Water Authority also signed, following the reading of a declaration by President Mahmoud Abbas earlier during the Forum that Palestine would ratify the convention once it attained statehood. When that occurs the River Jordan will have the most coverage of any international watercourse, with four of its five riparian states acceding to the Convention.

The UN Watercourses Convention provides a framework for common and cooperative management for the rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers crossing or forming international borders. An overwhelming majority of nations voted for the Convention in the UN General Assembly in 1997, but fewer than half the required number have proceeded to ratify it a national level.

“If fully enacted it would provide a strong basis for sharing and caring for the water draining half the world’s land surface and vital to the water supplies of 40 per cent of humanity,” said Flavia Loures, WWF International Water Law and Policy Senior Program Officer

World Water Forum vague on bridging divides

The UN Watercourses Convention has been one of the most contentious topics at the World Water Forum, with specific mention of the convention and its potential for bridging divides on water excluded from the Ministerial Declaration due to be issued on World Water Day (March 22) tomorrow.

“It is ironic in the extreme that with a World Water day themed around sharing transboundary waters the ministerial declaration to be issued that day takes great pains to avoid mentioning the only available instrument for global co-operation,” Ms. Loures said.

In lively World Water Forum discussions on the UN Watercourses Convention, it was also seen as a key legal instrument to foster cooperation on climate change adaptation in shared freshwater systems, crucial as river flows falter and extreme events such as floods and droughts increase in frequency and severity.
Millions of dollars in aid funds for developing cooperative water management schemes for some of the world’s major – and most contentious – river systems also remain available but unapplied for, although some of the countries concerned have been able to cooperate on marine issues.

The multi-stakeholder campaign to have the UN Convention on Watercourses brought into effect is supported by the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, the European Water Partnership, Conservation International, the Global Nature Fund, Living Lakes Partners, Green Cross International, IUCN and WWF, along with many governments in Europe and Africa.

“As climate change further exacerbates the water crisis, the difficulties and cost of expanding and sustaining water security will rise, and potentially very steeply,” said Green Cross International President Alexander Likhotal.

“The risks from failing to act are increasingly understood to be high, and include economic instability, loss of quality of life and reversal of gains in poverty reduction, more frequent disaster and ecological degradation. Therefore, we are calling for a swift ratification of the Convention ."

Modern irrigation techniques could save Turkey's water

2009-03-21

Istanbul, Turkey: With less than one tenth of Turkey’s irrigable land under modern irrigation techniques vast potentials for water saving exist in agriculture, user of nearly three quarters of the nation’s increasingly scarce water.

“We have to change our perception of water and water use practices considerably,”WWF-Turkey CEO Dr. Filiz Demirayak told the World Water Forum, now going on in Istanbul today.

“In pilot modern irrigation projects in Konya Closed Basin in central Anatolia and Bafa Lake Sub-Basin in western Anatolia, we have achieved more than 50% of water in the production of sugar beet, cotton and corn, which are among the thirstiest crops.”

Agricultural water use in Turkey is above world average levels, taking 72% of the water compared to 18% in household consumption and 10% in industry. Unsustainable water use practices in agricultural production are linked with the drying of lakes and rivers, declines in underground water levels and rising soil infertility from a build up in salinity.

Dry country a major producer of some of world's thirstiest crops

“Turkey is the 7th biggest cotton and 6th biggest sugar beet producer in the world yet modern and appropriate irrigation techniques are not employed in the production of these crops,” Dr Demirayak said.

“In 21 pilot projects in Anatolia WWF-Turkey has implemented drip irrigation technique in 270 decares (27 hectares) of agricultural land and trained thousands of farmer who are now growing their crops with half the average water they used previously.”

In a project WWF-Turkey conducted with the collaboration of Altınekin Governorship and the Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas in Altınekin, Konya Closed Basin a comprehensive transformation to drip irrigation system was undertaken together with farmers in 5700 decares of agricultural land, with water savings of 37%.

According to a WWF report, cotton, rice, wheat, sugar cane and sugar beet are the thirstiest crops in the world and are the biggest consumers of water in agricultural production.

WWF Netherlands freshwater programme manager Esther Blom told the forum that 50 % saving in water use had been achieved in strawberry production in Donana Basin in Spain, rice production in India and flower production in Kenya.

“In Spain annual strawberry production is 200.000 tons, for which 20 million m3 of water is consumed every year,” Blom said.

“The main markets for the strawberries are Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. We have achieved a significant transition in strawberry production in Donana by forging collaborations with the supermarkets in Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland.”

In rice production, WWF projects had accomplished 25-50% savings in water use while achieving a 20-40% increase in yield, with overall improvements in the productivity of land, labor, water and capital.

Turkey signs up to Kyoto, looks forward to Copenhagen

2009-02-06

Turkey has this week ratified the Kyoto Protocol, following an overwhelming vote in the national parliament.

The decision fulfils a promise first revealed by Turkish President Abdullah Gül at WWF’s international conference in Bodrum, Turkey, in May 2008. A month later, Turkey signed the protocol, becoming the 178th nation to do so, but it required ratification to come into effect.

WWF and other environmental NGOs and civil society organizations had long pressed for the decision over government fears it would impede development. Turkey’s ratification leaves the United States and Kazakhstan as the only significant large nations still out in the Kyoto cold.

Also a probable factor in the decision has been pressure for Turkey to close the gap between its environmental standards and those of Europe.

“Everyone should embrace this protocol,” said Veysel Eroğlu, Turkey's Minister of Environment and Forest, addressing parliament after the vote. He added that the government was taking necessary precautions for a better environment in the country.

Being late in participating the Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Turkey misses the possibility of becoming a “party” to the protocol and benefiting from its financial tools. Meanwhile, ratifying the Protocol does not imply putting a significant additional burden on Turkey until 2012. Turkey was not a party to UNFCCC in 1992 when the Kyoto Protocol was being negotiated. Turkey was not in the Annex B of the Protocol, which includes 39 developed countries that are obliged to reduce their emissions to 1990 levels between 2008-2012.

“We welcome the decision taken by the Turkish Government, though it was rather late,” said Dr Filiz Demirayak, CEO of WWF-Turkey.

“Turkey ranks first in terms of its rate of emission increase and has to take considerable steps under current circumstances and future predictions.

“We should consider Kyoto and the post-Kyoto process as an opportunity to improve the quality of life for our people, rather than a barrier against development. It is also important for us to reduce its ecological footprint and take steps on the road to sustainable development."

Dr Demirayak also proposed that “a voluntary commitment of keeping the emission rate at its current level at least until 2012 would be meaningful under the framework of ratifying the protocol and this achievement would be a stimulus to meeting new targets which would be set in 2012 Copenhagen process”.

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.

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.

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.”

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

Mysteries of Mediterranean bluefin tuna come under the microscope

2008-08-14

The most ambitious Mediterranean tuna tagging project yet will today start seeking answers to some key mysteries on the migratory behaviour of this most valuable but also most imperilled ‘prince of the sea’.

WWF scientists, launching the three-year On the Med tuna trail project in Spain’s Balearic Islands, hope to map tuna migrations around the Mediterranean and verify theories that there may be resident tuna populations in the eastern Mediterranean that never venture into the Atlantic.

“It is scandalous that we know so little about a species we are putting under such huge pressure from illegal fishing and oversized fleets,” said Dr Pablo Cermeño, WWF Mediterranean’s Tuna Officer.

“WWF’s new tagging project will shed new light on tuna migratory routes and behaviour which will enable far more effective recovery and management plans both for the tuna and the fishery that depends on them.”

On the Med tuna trail will also be a race against time to gather data before the overstretched fishery collapses. Current annual catches taking ever smaller and more juvenile fish are estimated to be in the region of 60,000 tonnes – double the level allowed by law and four times the amount considered sustainable by international scientists.

Very few tagging studies have been done in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean so far, with activity focusing instead mostly on the western Atlantic. WWF’s tagging project, which will collect, among others, information on position and depth of the high speed fish, will fit adult fish (over 40kg) with ‘pop-up’ tags that record information at a frequency of once per minute, and which release from the fish at a specified time and float to the surface for the data to be read by satellite.

Important lifecycle information on the bluefin will also come from ‘archival’ tags clipped onto juvenile fish and recovered at point of catch – wherever that may be.

“The plan behind this project is to fill the gap between the little we do know about bluefin behaviour in the Mediterranean and what we need to know,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “When we have better data, we would urge fisheries decision-makers to use it to make better-informed choices for the management of this endangered species.”

WWF’s tuna tagging activities – planned in partnership with key international scientific institutions and fishing stakeholders in the Mediterranean, and made possible thanks to financial help from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation – will run to 2010.

Today’s On the Med tuna trail tagging launch will use tuna caught by recreational fishers in the Balearics, once the most significant breeding area for bluefin in the Mediterranean. WWF, which is calling for a recovery period moratorium on bluefin tuna fishing if effective rules for a sustainable fishery cannot be drawn up and enforced, is also promoting the establishment of a tuna sanctuary in the Balearics.

Further WWF tagging events across Mediterranean waters will roll out in September and in 2009.

For further information please see press release here

Turkey hints at “significant” moves on climate change

2008-05-24

Turkey today dropped its strongest hint yet that it will sign up to the Kyoto Protocol on combating climate change, and will join in international efforts aimed at cutting greenhouse gasses.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said he supports the UN plan for the two year negotiation process agreed in Bali last year, and added “Turkey is now preparing to undertake its responsibilities. Very significant work is currently under way so as to enable us to take important steps in the period ahead.”

Speaking at the opening session of this year's WWF Annual Conference in Bodrum, President Gül said climate change affects all of us. “Today, the effects of global climate change are felt in every corner of the world'” he said. “While people are fighting with drought and water shortage in some regions, other regions are witnessing pain and destruction brought about by the effects of tornadoes and floods causing large scale disasters. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its priority first step, the Kyoto Protocol, are considered to be the most effective tools for sustainable development.”

But President Gül warned that Turkey's economic and social development must not be put at risk, and that industrialised countries must also do their bit. “International cooperation in this field is not a one way street, but one that is two way. Industrialized countries should take into account the concerns and expectations of developing countries. Also, developing countries should draw lessons from the mistakes that were made during industrialization and progress on the path of sustainable development with the awareness of their responsibilities to future generations.”

The President's words were echoed by Turkey's Environment Minister Veysel Eroğlu who told the audience of more than 200 delegates: “Climate change is one of the most important agenda items in the world, and Turkey will be one of the countries most impacted by climate change. We are committed to our development but at the same time we are committed to fighting the the negative impacts of climate change”.

WWF Director General James Leape welcomed the Turkish President's hints that Turkey could soon ratify the Kyoto Protocol. “The UN climate negotiations represent our best hope of mitigating the worst effects of climate change,” said Mr. Leape. “WWF is honoured that President Gül has chosen to address this critical issue here at our annual conference, and I am delighted that Turkey appears to want to play its full part in reaching a global agreement to combat global warming. It is crucially important that Turkey now act on that commitment, sign on to the Kyoto protocol and become a full participant in the international effort to solve this problem.”

For further information:

Martin Atkin, Director, External & Media Relations, WWF International +41 796 982985

Deniz Tapan, Communications Director, WWF Turkey +90 533 714 9037

Bloated Mediterranean tuna fleet in race for the last bluefin

2008-03-12

Rome, Italy – The most comprehensive analysis yet of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fleet shows it conservatively having twice the fishing capacity of current quotas and more than three and a half times the catch levels recommended by scientists to avoid stock collapse.

The fleet is so bloated that just covering its costs implies that a third of its fishing would be illegal, with the worst over-capacity culprits being Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Libya, France and Spain.

The new WWF report, Race for the last bluefin, "uncovers the absurdity of a system long out of control, where hundreds of hi-tech boats are racing to catch a handful of fish,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

“The failure of international fisheries management has allowed a monster to thrive in the Mediterranean. Decision-makers must be bold if the bluefin is to be saved from a sorry fate – and for any chance of a future for Mediterranean tuna fishermen.”

To keep fishing capacity within the 2008 legal catch limits imposed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Mediterranean fleet would need to shed 229 vessels – almost a third of the current 617-vessel fleet.

Reducing fishing effort to scientifically recommended levels, meanwhile, would require decommissioning 283 vessels, including 58 in European Union Member States.

In Italy – worst culprit among EU countries – the fleet should be reduced by over 30 vessels to respect scientific recommendations, or 17 just to stay within the law. The WWF report indicates that high levels of under-reporting by Italy are also likely, as its reported catches have dramatically decreased since 1997 – yet during the past decade the Italian fleet has increased considerably in size and power. Croatia, Spain and Libya are also under the spotlight for under-reporting.

At a minimum, the report shows Mediterranean fleets would have to fish 42,000 tonnes of tuna just to cover costs – implying some 13,000 tonnes of illegal catch. This calculation considers only the more technically advanced vessels built in the past decade – the full picture will be much worse yet.

“It is crazy – the numerous new fleets are so modern and costly that fishermen are forced to fish illegally just to survive – and worse still they are fishing themselves out of a job,” added Dr Tudela.

WWF is calling on concerned countries to dramatically reduce capacity in this fishery as a matter of urgency ahead of the 2008 fishing season that starts end-April. WWF also urges ICCAT, the body tasked with sustainably managing the fishery, to take a lead in proposing radical solutions. Until the fishery is under control and sustainably managed, WWF continues to advocate a fishing ban – and to applaud responsible retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumer groups who are boycotting Mediterranean bluefin in increasing numbers.

“The fishery is unsustainable in every way – economically, socially, and ecologically. The time to act is now – while there are still bluefin tuna to save in the Mediterranean,” Dr Tudela said.

In spite of the overcapacity of fleets, at least 25 new purse seine vessels were still being constructed at time of going to press.

Join retailers’ Mediterranean bluefin tuna boycott, urges WWF

2008-01-28

As more and more major European retailers boycott Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna, WWF used the occasion of the Barcelona Seafood Summit to call on more to join the ban until the imperilled species is out of the danger zone.

France's Auchan group, with a nearly 14 per cent share of the retail fish trade, declared its boycott on 28 December, noting that scientists had advised a 15,000 tonne ceiling on annual catches, while the international tuna management body was allowing a 2008 quota of 29,500 tonnes.

"Moreover, each year, captures greatly exceed the fixed quotas," Auchan said in a statement outlining how the ban had been taken in line with its policy of pursuing a sustainable trade in fish.

“WWF applauds Auchan in France, Carrefour in Italy, Coop in both Italy and Switzerland, and ICA in Norway for their courageous decisions to stop selling Mediterranean bluefin tuna – and we urge other retailers to follow suit,” says Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

“The seafood industry is waking up to its responsibilities, recognising that there is not an endless supply of fish like bluefin tuna. By taking action now, retailers can help give this amazing species a fighting chance of survival, for the benefit of both business and the marine ecosystem.”

Scientists have declared it “probable” that populations of the magnificent bluefin tuna, much prized especially for sushi in Japan, will soon collapse in the Mediterranean – unless action is taken now.

Before retailers started taking matters into their own hands, WWF had suggested to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in November that contracting countries agree on a 3-year ban on bluefin tuna fishing, but this move was rejected.

Following massive demand in recent years – especially from Japan where Atlantic bluefin is prized for Sushi – high-tech fishing fleets have hunted down, often illegally, ever-declining numbers of these migratory ocean giants.

WWF exposed the drastically out-of-control nature of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery in the 2007 season when illegal fishing was again rife – including the use of banned spotter planes, as well as widespread unreporting. According to WWF sources, the Spanish authorities, for example, officially declared only two thirds of the nation’s catch last year.

“Fisheries management has gone completely off the rails – the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery is now a dangerous game in which clearly all sides will lose,” Dr Tudela said. “That’s why WWF is urging retailers to stand up for sustainable fish.”

Gemma Parkes
Communications Officer
WWF Mediterranean Programme Office
Tel: +39 06 844 97 224
Fax: +39 06 841 3866
gparkes@wwfmedpo.org
www.panda.org/mediterranean

WWF pushes for Mediterranean tuna moratorium

2007-10-17

Rome, Italy – WWF is calling for an immediate three-year closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery, following a season of unprecedented illegal and uncontrolled fishing.

Official reports show that EU fishing fleets have exceeded EU catch quotas by some 4,000 tonnes. France, for example, almost doubled its national quota, fishing 10,165 tonnes by the end of August this year compared to its 5,593-tonne quota.

Other Mediterranean fishing nations, notably Italy and Turkey, are reported by the media to be involved in a web of fraud, such as laundering over-quota catches using false French catch documents.

“What more evidence is needed of the dire lack of governance in this fishery?” stresses Miguel Jorge, Deputy Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme.

“An immediate moratorium is now the only sure way to avoid collapse.”

Business as usual
Despite being made aware of the crisis by WWF, Japanese traders — including the Mitsubishi Corporation, which accounts for some 40 per cent of Mediterranean bluefin imports to Japan — are benefiting from the stock’s mismanagement.

“Companies continuing to trade in Mediterranean bluefin are willing accomplices in the demise of this important species,” Jorge adds.

The same applies to fish farming businesses like Ricardo Fuentes e Hijos, the biggest tuna farm company in the world, which dominates the Mediterranean farming industry.

Tuna farming is the fattening in cages of wild-caught tuna. Most of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna traded in Japan passes through a tuna farm.

Suspect tuna
According to WWF, it is impossible to determine how many illegal and unreported catches across the Mediterranean fishery remain unknown. It is also hard to know whether a bluefin tuna is illegal or not.

“Quite simply if it comes from the Mediterranean, it is suspect,” Jorge says.

“What’s needed is an end to the Mediterranean bluefin fishery until further notice. It must not reopen before the stock can start to recover and sustainable management established.

WWF is calling on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) — the body mandated to sustainably manage the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery — to push for a multi-annual closure of at least three years.

The next ICCAT meeting will take place from 9 to 18 November 2007 in Antalya, Turkey.

For further information:
Gemma Parkes, Communications Officer
WWF Mediterranean
Tel: +39 06 8449 7224
E-mail: gparkes@wwfmedpo.org