BLUEFIN TUNA—RECOVERY PLAN (6890/07)
Letter from the Chairman to Bed Bradshaw
MP, Minister of State for Local Environment, Marine and Animal
Welfare, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Your Explanatory Memorandum on the above proposal
was considered by Sub-Committee D at its meeting of 28 March 2007.
We welcome ICCAT's adoption of a 15-year recovery
plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
We share your concerns, however, that the plan is not as sustainable
as would have been preferable.
You state that you will seek to ensure that
the minimum landing size requirement is implemented earlier than
13 June 2007. We are supportive of this, and we are also pleased
to note that you intend to question the decision not to penalise
over-catches in 2005 and 2006. In that context, we would be interested
to receive any information that you may have on the level of over-catches
in 2005 and 2006 and therefore on the impact of this decision
upon the 2007 TAC.
We are content to lift scrutiny on the Proposal
and look forward to examining the Community's proposed multi-annual
recovery plan in due course.
29 March 2007
Letter from Ben Bradshaw MP to the Chairman
Thank you for your letter of 29 March on the
above mentioned Explanatory Memorandum asking for information
on over-fishing of bluefin tuna in 2005 and 2006.
Please find attached an annex setting out the
details as they are known to us. You will see that France is the
only country to declare any significant over-fish in these years.
However, illegal fishing is commonly thought to be a more widespread
problem in the bluefin tuna fishery. Scientists estimate that
the total allowable catch (TAC) is exceeded by 20,000 tonnes a
year. The majority of this overfish is undeclared. It is thought
both EU and non-EU countries are responsible.
Therefore, while I believe it is important to
press the European Commission to enforce payback for France's
declared overfish, I am also seeking to have the problem investigated
more comprehensively. We expect the Commission to send inspectors
to EU Member States involved in the bluefin tuna fishery to ensure
maximum compliance with the rules. Where compliance is poor, legal
action should be taken. At the same time, it is worth noting that
the ICCAT-agreed recovery plan includes a comprehensive set of
control measures which, if implemented effectively, would significantly
reduce the margin for illegal fishing.
It is difficult to say what effect any payback
would have on the 2007 quotas since this situation is unprecedented.
The usual ICCAT rules governing payback, calculated over two year
periods, will not apply because ICCAT has agreed an amnesty on
the 2005 and 2006 overfish. What we are calling for is the application
of standard Common Fisheries Policy rules, above any ICCAT amnesty.
But taking such a step has never been proposed before. I have
been pressing the Commission strongly that it should apply the
normal CFP rules in this case but have not yet had a satisfactory
response.
24 April 2007
Annex A
Below is a table outlining the reported overfishes
in tons of Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna in 2005 and 2006. However,
2006 figures are not officially reported until later in the year
so they may be added to.
|
| Quota
| Catch | Overfish
| % Overfish |
|
| 2005 | |
| | |
France
EU Quota
Global TAC
| 6,983
18,331
32,000
| 9,455 | 2,572
| 37% |
| 2006 | |
| | |
France
EU Quota
Global TAC
| 6,582
18,301
32,000
| 8,418 | 1,836
| 28% |
| | Total French
overfish
| 5,349 | |
|
|
