This year’s Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna season began on 26 May and will run through to 24 June, with European Union vessels allowed to catch up to 15,850 metric tons (MT) of the prized fish.
A total 1,088 vessels have been authorized to fish for bluefin tuna, including 58 purse-seiners which have 71 percent of the E.U. quota.
Member states actively involved in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) regulated fishery comprise Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, and Cyprus.
In 2006, ICCAT adopted a multi-annual recovery plan for bluefin tuna, which has been regularly modified based on stock assessment, control experiences and new technologies. In 2010, 2012 and 2014 substantial measures were introduced to enforce the management of the stock and to improve the control of bluefin caught alive for farming purposes by laying down rules for the application of new technologies.
For the 2018 season, a strict control and inspection program has again been put in place that sets concrete control priorities and benchmarks. This involves the deployment of inspectors, patrol vessels and aircraft coordinated by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the member states concerned. An additional patrol vessel has also been chartered and deployed by EFCA.
The European Commission also monitors catches and analyzes vessel monitoring system (VMS) data on a continual basis to ensure that all rules, and particularly the individual vessels' quotas, are fully respected.
Karmenu Vella, E.U. commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, said the E.U. is determined to maintain the control standards and the recovery trend seen in the eastern bluefin stock.
"Ten years ago we were talking about the collapse of bluefin tuna. Thanks to the right measures, reinforced international cooperation, and efforts by all stakeholders, we are now managing a sustainable stock. But a sustainable fishery means also constant surveillance, to ensure everybody plays by the rules and takes his deserved share, now and in the next years," he said.
