Bluefin tuna: Commissioner Damanaki expects full compliance during 2012 fishing season
The European Commission is ready for the 2012 bluefin tuna fishing campaign. In close collaboration with the Member States concerned, all necessary measures are being taken to ensure that the EU fishing fleet fully respects the rules during the main fishing season. From 16 May to 14 June purse seiners are allowed to fish for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and the Eastern Atlantic. Vessels from seven EU member states are active in the bluefin tuna fishery (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus). Together with bluefin tuna fish traps, another important sector in the fishery, they account for 80% of the EU's quota. The EU's overall quota is 5.756 tonnes for 2012 (the same as in 2011), compared to 7.087 in 2010.
Based on the experiences of previous years and taking into account the particularities of this year's campaign, a strict control and inspection programme has been put in place to monitor all aspects of the bluefin tuna fishery and enforce the rules. It involves a significant deployment of inspectors, patrol vessels and aircrafts and is coordinated by the Commission, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the Member States concerned. The Commission also monitors catches and analyses Vessel Monitoring System data (a satellite based control system) on an hourly basis to ensure that all rules, and particularly the individual vessels' quotas, are fully respected.
