Barents Sea Cod And Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna Fisheries Two Case Studies Of IUU Fishing

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Barents Sea Cod And Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna
FisheriesTwo Case Studies Of IUU Fishing

• Dr Tom Pickerell
• Fisheries Policy Officer WWF-UK
• IUU Fishing Update And Stakeholder Consultation
• Chatham House - 21st November 2006

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Overview of WWF

• The world's largest and most experienced
  independent conservation organisation
• A truly global network, working in more than 90
  countries
• A challenging, constructive, science-based
  organisation that addresses issues from the
  survival of species and habitats to climate
  change, sustainable business and environmental
  education

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Why is WWF Interested in IUU?

• IUU fishing activities wilfully undermine
  management efforts to conserve marine species and
  ecosystems
• Thus impacting on our mission
• However, if all IUU fishing were stopped
  tomorrow, overfishing would still be a problem.

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What Are We Doing?

• Reforming the flags of convenience (FoC) system
• WWF is a member of the OECD High Seas Task Force
• Working with fishing companies
• Tightening trade controls
• Developing plans of action

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Barent Sea Cod
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IUU In The Barents Sea (I)

• Between 100,000 and 166,000 tons of cod is fished
  illegally in the Barents Sea annually.
• Every year cod to a value of around 120 million
  Euros is fished illegally from the Barents Sea.
• Up to 40 of the Russian catch is illegally
  caught
• Confirmed in a recent report by WWF-Russia

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IUU In The Barents Sea (II)

• Illegal cod is often landed in EU ports (inc.
  Grimbsy Hull), either by the trawlers
  themselves or via dedicated freezer ships, to
  avoid inspection and quota control in Russia or
  Norway.
• Birds Eye and Findus have in the past been
  implicated in purchasing illegal cod.
• WWF are calling for the introduction of fishing
  effort documentation for all fishing vessels and
  export documents for fish products Full
  traceability

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Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna

• Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) migrates every
  year from Atlantic to Mediterranean waters - and
  back out again - during the course of the season.
• ICCAT is the Regional Fisheries Management
  Organisation (RFMO) which regulates this
  particular bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery.
• This year's plenary meeting (Croatia, 17-26 Nov
  06) will decide on key recovery and management
  measures

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Bluefin Tuna IUU (I)

• WWF published a report in July 06 containing the
  first accurate assessment of real catches of the
  BFT stock
• Based on five parallel studies referring to the
  2004 and 2005 fishing seasons - including
  official customs data and monitoring of the
  traffic of tuna container ships out of the
  Mediterranean
• BFT catches are dramatically higher (more than 40
  per cent) than the quota set by ICCAT (32,000t)

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Bluefin Tuna IUU (II)

• Traditional BFT trap fishermen in the Gibraltar
  Straits have in the last three years caught 80
  less fish compared to catches in the late 1990s
• Industrial fleets are now plundering the last
  remaining BFT breeding refuges in the
  Mediterranean off the coasts of Libya, Cyprus and
  Egypt.
• Fleets from the EU (especially France), Libya and
  Turkey are responsible for most of IUU catches

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Bluefin Tuna IUU (III)

• An increasing amount of unreported tuna catches
  is shipped out of the Mediterranean on board
  massive reefer vessels and cold containers.
• In 2004/5 around 30,000t of BFT was ranched.
• Wild-caught BFT, fattened up for 6 months before
  slaughter.
• Not counted under the quota despite originating
  from the stock!!

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Bluefin Tuna IUU (IV)

• WWF are calling for the fishery to be closed
  immediately
• A strong recovery plan and strict management
  measures must be agreed at ICCAT this year
• If not we most likely face the total commercial
  and biological extinction of the Mediterranean
  and Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna.

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Conclusion

• WWF will continue its work on aiming to
  eliminate IUU fisheries
• IUU is not just a high seas/developing world
  issue huge IUU operations occur in waters
  around Europe
• We can co-operate in
• Tracking illegal catches
• Traceability work
• Transparency in documentation