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Hope Dims for Bluefin Tuna Recovery

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- The world's most expensive marine fish--the northern bluefin tuna--faces the prospect of continued decline in the Atlantic and Mediterranean if the Atlantic Tunas Commission (ICCAT) fails to adopt recovery plans here this week (November 25-29), warned WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and the Ocean Wildlife Campaign. The adult population of this species has dropped by more than 80 per cent since the mid-1970s throughout its Atlantic range.

"For the first time, the Atlantic Tunas Commission is poised to enact a bona-fide recovery plan for the species," said Michael Sutton, Director of WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign. "But the fishing industry is resisting that--trying to justify maintaining catches at present high levels. WWF is calling on the governments of the Commission to act firmly and decisively this year to bring the bluefin back in the Atlantic and Mediterranean."

According to a new scientific assessment unveiled in October, the current breeding population in the western Atlantic stands at only 13 per cent of what it was in the mid-1970s. The report, in its most optimistic scenario, suggests that maintaining catches at about 2000 metric tons would likely only sustain the current low population size. The report projects that in order to return the bluefin population to the healthy levels of the mid-1970's, catches would have to be reduced to less than 500 metric tons. In the east Atlantic, the report states that catches would have to be cut in half in order just to be sustainable.

"ICCAT again has an opportunity to honour its mandate and establish effective plans for recovering the severely depleted Atlantic bluefin tuna to a healthy and productive level," said David Wilmot, Director of the Ocean Wildlife Campaign. "Should the Commission fail again to take the steps necessary to ensure recovery, even deeper and more painful quota cuts will be required in the future."

Another significant challenge for ICCAT is illegal fishing for bluefin tuna by member and non-member countries alike. According to Italian, French and Spanish Customs authorities, illegal bluefin fishing is on the rise. The Mediterranean, for example, is an important spawning area for bluefin tuna.

Yet catches of this species in the Mediterranean account for more than 70 per cent of the global landings. Some ICCAT member nations fail to observe the Commission's prohibition on taking small fish under 6.4 kg. WWF and the Ocean Wildlife Campaign are calling on the Commission to crack down on illegal fishing for bluefin tuna on the part of any country in the Mediterranean.

"Rampant overfishing, lack of compliance with ICCAT recommendations, and unregulated fishing by non-member nations all combine to seriously undermine the future of this species and the fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean," warned Sutton. "We call on ICCAT to adopt effective recovery plans and insist on compliance with its recommendations by all countries that fish for this species in the region." -Ends-

Contact: Someshwar Singh at +34 43 42 69 89 or fax + 34 43 42 00 31. Note: A Video News Release *Bluefin Tuna Fishing Frenzy* is also available from WWF Television Centre at +31 3069 20 499.