Pirate vessels looting Mediterranean tuna

Having repeatedly requested clarification from the European Commission about these pirates, conservation organizations WWF and Greenpeace have submitted a formal joint expression of concern to the body tasked with managing this fishery - the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) - to inform all Contracting Parties of the alarming anomaly.

 

Blind eye?

"How can European authorities turn a blind eye to these rogue vessels? This catastrophic fishery - which should never have been allowed to open this year - is made many times worse by the illegal fishing that is clearly continuing," says Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. Photographic evidence is available of the pirate vessels.

Spain authorized over 60 vessels to fish juvenile bluefin

Spanish authorities willingly allowed some 67 vessels to illegally fish juvenile bluefin tuna in 2007 - a fact that has been openly acknowledged by a defiant Spanish government. Greenpeace uncovered that 67 Spanish vessels were permitted to contravene the ICCAT regulation in force that forbids the capture of tunas between 8-30kg (except for clear derogations that do not apply in this case). Further, Spain will continue to violate the ICCAT regulation by allowing the illegal catch of juveniles again in 2008.