The International Committee for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has agreed a compromise on the reduction of quotas which pleases neither the conservationists nor the fishing industry.
ICCAT has decided to reduce quotas for tuna by 4% in 2011 to 12,900 tons. Conservationists wanted the quotas to be halved, the fishing industry wanted them to remain at the current level of 13,500 tons.
The 48 member countries of ICCAT have been meeting in Paris for the past ten days and at the end of it all, they decided upon a minimum compromise of 4%.
The reduction will also apply to 2012, which is when the Commission next meets. During this time, scientific studies will be carried out to assess the impact of the decision.
France is set to suffer more than other countries relating to tuna quotas due to an additional 1,500 ton sanction imposed for exceeding their quota in 2007. Despite efforts to circumvent the sanction, it was agreed that this sanction would take effect in 2011.
The quota for Spain will be reduced from 2,500 tons to 2,400 tons for 2011. It was also agreed to increase controls to prevent illegal fishing.
France, Spain and Italy, the largest tuna fishing nations, opposed any higher reduction in quotas. This has led most to the conclusion that the 4% reduction does nothing either for conservation of the species or for industry and is just a face-saving edict.