Bluefin tuna caught by a Spanish vessel. (Photo: madrimasd.org)

Spain intends to achieve greatest possible increase for bluefin tuna TAC

MOROCCO
Saturday, November 18, 2017, 01:30 (GMT + 9)

The General Secretary of Fisheries of Spain participates in the negotiations of the 25th ordinary session of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which takes place in Marrakech from November 14 to 22.

This session poses great interest to Spain, as discussions are taking place on bluefin tuna fishery regulation in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, where Spain is the first country in terms of catches and fleet involved.

During this meeting, the Permanent Committee of Research and Statistics of ICCAT has confirmed the recovery of the stock and has recommended the replacement of the recovery plan, in force since 2006, by a management plan, with a total allowable catch (TAC) that would increase progressively from the current 23,000 tonnes to 36,000 tonnes in 2020.

In this sense, Fisheries Secretary General Alberto López-Asenjo has stressed that the recovery of the bluefin tuna stock has been due, to a large extent, to the efforts of the Spanish and Community fleet, which experienced drastic reductions in their activity and a severe capacity plan that excluded many artisanal vessels from fishing targeting this species.

In addition, the Fisheries Secretary General has stressed that the priority for Spain in these negotiations is to ensure that the TAC increase is the largest possible in 2018, while maintaining the strict level of demand in terms of control. Spain leads this level of demand, which makes this fishery the best controlled in the world.

On the other hand, the EU has presented, at Spain's request, a complete proposal to establish a catch control rule for albacore tuna, which will make this stock the first ICCAT stock to have this transparent management system, based on the best scientific information available.

In relation to this species, the TAC set for 2018 will increase to 33,600 tonnes, 20 per cent higher than in 2017. These increases especially benefit the Cantabrian and Canary Islands fleets, which in recent seasons have experienced premature closures of this fishery.

Among other issues having interest to Spain, the ICCAT meeting is negotiating the possible regulation of the shortfin mako fishery and updating the current recommendations for swordfish in the North and South Atlantic, species on which the fleet of Spanish surface longline depends.

At the same time, Alberto López-Asenjo has held a series of bilateral meetings with delegations from different ICCAT Member States, including the meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Zakia Driouich, as well as with the delegation of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the United States.

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