Pacific nations agree to raise fishing quotas on bluefin tuna catches: media
PACIFIC nations agreed on Tuesday (Jul 16) to raise fishing quotas on bluefin tuna catches after a recovery of stocks, Japanese media reported.
Members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) agreed at talks in Japan to raise the quota for large bluefin tuna by 50 per cent, the Nikkei business daily and other media have reported.
The current quota is 7,609 tonnes per year.
For smaller bluefin tuna weighing less than 30 kilogrammes, the limit was raised 10 per cent from 4,725 tonnes, effective 2025, Jiji Press reported.
The meeting brings together 26 nations and regions to discuss and determine fishing policy in the Pacific.
It is mostly made up of smaller Pacific island nations but also includes so-called “distant-water” members such as the European Union as well as China and the United States.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
Currently, almost 74 per cent or 5,614 tonnes of the overall quota is allocated to Japan, and almost 85 per cent or 4,007 tonnes of smaller tuna.
Conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which was an observer in the WCPFC meeting in Kushiro, said that stocks of bluefin tuna have increased 10-fold in 12 years.
WWF “expressed willingness to welcome the decision to increase the cap because of a recovery in tuna in the Pacific in recent years and a trend of increasing stocks is being maintained”, it said.
However, Grantly Galland from Pew Charitable Trusts, another observer at the WCPFC, said the latest decision is “a rapid and dramatic reversal of the strict regulations that have been successful”.
The change “may put at risk the recent population gains and negatively affect the market”, Galland added.
Pew “is concerned by the substantial increase in allowed catch... particularly because a recent stock assessment showing substantial growth is difficult to confirm and was not independently peer reviewed”, he said.
Japan has been seeking a 131 per cent increase in the annual quota in the central and western Pacific for large bluefin tuna, and a 30 per cent increase in that for smaller fish.
The fish are highly prized in Japan.
At this year’s annual auction which was held on Jan 1, a bluefin tuna weighing 238 kg sold for 114.2 million yen (S$978,133). AFP
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
