Euorpean Comission Bans Blue Fin Tuna Fishing

This article was taken from BBC News. It was written on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007. This should really open your eyes:


The European Commission has banned the fishing of endangered bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the year.

The move was taken to curb over-fishing and dwindling stocks of fish, after the EU reached its 2007 quota.

An EU official said it would move to prevent under-reporting of catches and unequal sharing of the quota.

The ban affects Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain. Italy and France have closed their fisheries for 2007.

'Collapse risk'

Member states had already reached the 2007 quota of 16,779.5 tonnes, the EU said.

Countries that had not reached their allocation by the time of the ban could seek future compensation under EU legislation, he added.

EU and international rules also exist to punish member states that exceed their quotas.

"Clearly there are problems both of over-fishing a stock already threatened with collapse and of equity between the member states concerned," said EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.

France was one of the main culprits, according to figures gathered by environmental group WWF.

"France was one of the countries that has caught most of the [EU] quota ... they have over caught their national limit," Carol Phua, WWF Fisheries policy officer, told the BBC News website.

The endangered bluefin tuna has been plundered for many years in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with high rates of unreported over-fishing a key cause of the decline, the EU said.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is the best quality tuna in the world, and fisheries earn top dollar exporting the fish to the lucrative Japanese market.

The increasing appetite for sushi in Europe is also pushing up demand.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) sets annual fishing quotas to be followed by all member countries.

"Clearly there are problems both of over-fishing a stock already threatened with collapse and of equity between the member states concerned "

Joe Borg
EU Fisheries Commissioner

What does this all mean for us in the states? Well, if it is happening in Europe, then it is just a matter of time before it happens here. When will this stop? As you can see, governments are already involved. BUT, it is not the governments that are causing the issue. It is the people who decide to eat the fish, every day that are the cause of the problem.

Now, as I have said before, I am not telling people to boycott fish or give it up all together. What I am asking for people to do is cut down on the consumption. Eat it twice a week and when you do eat fish, eat the sustainable seafood. It's not that hard. Just check out the Marine Stewardship Council's web page at www.msc.org. Click on the where to buy section and you will be provided a list of all grocery stores in your country that carry seafood with the MSC logo on it.

Really, it is a simple solution. The few fish bought, the fewer fish caught.