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Hope Dims for Bluefin Tuna Recovery

Progress at Tuna Commission Overshadowed by Quota Increase


Southern Bluefin Tuna Stock At Lowest Levels Recorded

fishing boat July 30th, 1997

(en español)

Sydney, Australia -- Southern Bluefin Tuna populations could be at risk of commercial extinction in the Southern Oceans if fishing continues at current levels, according to a new report by TRAFFIC Oceania, the wildlife trade monitoring programme of WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and IUCN-The World Conservation Union.

Supported by the WWF Endangered Seas Campaign, the report, A Review of the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery: Implications for Ecologically Sustainable Management, documents how the number of mature fish is now believed to be at the lowest levels recorded, and well below a biologically safe level. Bluefin Tuna are caught primarily for the luxury Japanese sashimi trade. They are also among the most valuable fish targeted on the high seas.

The report's release comes little more than one month before the next meeting of the Commission of the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), where the need for stricter catch restrictions should be discussed. There are differing views as to when the parental population will recover. Australia, Japan and New Zealand are the three major fishing nations and to date the only CCSBT member countries. However, so far they have failed to develop a joint management plan for the fishery.

"The status of the Southern Bluefin Tuna parental population is now less than 9 per cent of that in 1960," said Glenn Sant, TRAFFIC Oceania Senior Research Officer. "Given the serious implications that a collapse in the stock would have on the species, ecosystem and fishing industry, we need to adopt a precautionary approach. The total annual catch, now set at 11,750 tonnes, should be reduced by 35 per cent to help ensure the number of breeding fish return to safe levels by the year 2020."

Of additional concern is the increasing catch by non-member countries. At least 10 other countries catch Southern Bluefin Tuna, particularly Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea. Indonesia's recent annual catch included 700 tonnes taken from the Southern Bluefin Tuna's sole spawning grounds, located off the coast of Java.

Discussions are under way between the CCSBT Commission and representatives of these three non-member countries and territories, but negotiations about exactly how much Southern Bluefin Tuna each new signatory could catch are a major part of this process. South Korea, which supplies the Japanese market as well as a rapidly increasing domestic demand of its own, has indicated a willingness to consider joining, while Indonesia has stated that it would not do so for another year. In a positive move, Taiwan, which cannot join the Convention because of its political status, recently agreed to limit its annual catch.

As Southern Bluefin Tuna are highly migratory, the co-operation of many nations and strong international catch restraint are now essential if the fishery is to rebuild to safe and sustainable levels.

"Every effort should be made to encourage fishing nations to accede to or co-operate with the goals of the Convention," Sant said. "Current conservation efforts are greatly undermined by Japan's import of Southern Bluefin Tuna from nations which are not party to the Convention. Japan should suspend this practice until these nations join the Convention."

-- Ends --

For more information, contact Glenn Sant for TRAFFIC Oceania, tel ++ 61 2 9299 6582 or Bobbie Jo Kelso for TRAFFIC International, tel. ++ 44 1223 277427.