International Commission For The Conservation of Atlantic Tunas - Criticism

Criticism

ICCAT is widely criticised by environmental bodies for having short-term policies that favour fisherman over the long-term conservation of the species. It is often jokingly referred to as "the International Conspiracy to Catch All Tuna".

In November 2008, ICCAT ignored the advice of their scientists that quotas should not exceed 15,000 tonnes per year – which had been determined as the maximum sustainable yield – and instead set quotas at 22,000 tonnes. An independent review of ICCAT, commissioned by the organisation themselves, concluded that their policies on the eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery are a "travesty of fisheries management", and an "international disgrace". Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean's fisheries programme, said "Today's outcome is a recipe for economic as well as biological bankruptcy with the European Union squarely to blame. ICCAT's string of successive failures leaves us little option now but to seek effective remedies through trade measures and extending the boycott of retailers, restaurants, chefs and consumers".

In November 2009, ICCAT's scientific advisors announced that a total ban on international trade in Atlantic tuna was justified, based on the decline in the tuna fishery population to less than 15% of its original size. However, later in the same month, ICCAT recommended catch quotas of 13,500 tonnes per year. This was met by sharp criticisms from environmental organisations, and prompted calls for alternative methods to regulate Atlantic tuna fisheries, such as protection under CITES. Susan Lieberman, Director of International Policy for the Pew Environment Group said

Since its inception, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has been driven by short-term commercial fishing interests, not the conservation ethic implied by its name....ICCAT's actions and inactions highlight the need to take these issues to CITES—the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The ICCAT fisheries managers have shown scant interest in the long-term preservation of the key resources they are supposed to manage. It is now time to turn to other bodies to seek the needed protections that ICCAT has failed to provide.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a statement with strongly worded criticism, saying that the new agreement was "a marked improvement over the current rules, but it is insufficient to guarantee the long-term viability of either the fish or the fishery".