Bluefin tuna: Commission closes the purse seine fishery

Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries decided to close the bluefin tuna fishery to purse seiners in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, due to the exhaustion of the quotas allocated to them, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to EC.

France, Greece and Spain have been informed of this decision which will become effective as of 10 June 2010, or earlier if the Member States concerned have in the meantime decided to close the fisheries for all vessels still today. The closure of the purse seine fishery is necessary to protect the fragile stock of bluefin tuna and to ensure its recovery as envisaged by the recovery plan of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). The Commission has declared a zero tolerance approach towards overfishing and will take all necessary measures to ensure full compliance across the board.