No Action To Protect Atlantic Bluefin, Shark; Tuna Tracking Blocked For Third Time
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For the third time, the ICCAT nations also delayed the compulsory implementation of measures to track tuna catches electronically from ocean to port to market, a crucial measure designed to reduce rampant fraud in an industry where the amount of Atlantic bluefin tuna caught in the eastern Atlantic is 57% higher than the catch limit between 2001 and 2008, according to a 2013 study.
Critics say that until stronger measures are taken to stamp out illegal fishing and fraud, tuna catch quotas are meaningless. Much of the illegal tuna fishing, by vessels from wealthy nations such as South Korea, occurs offshore of some of the world's poorest nations in West Africa. But ICCAT also failed to take any action to ban vessels caught fishing illegally off West Africa.
The World Wildlife Fund said last week in Cape Town, South Africa, that tuna fishing in the Atlantic was still "out of control" because of false reporting on catches. Last year, it reported that 20,000 tons of unreported tuna was sold, mainly in Japan.
The ICCAT nations did maintain catch limits on Atlantic bluefin tuna. They also announced steps to force large fishing vessels to carry a unique identification number beginning in 2016, after many cases of illegal fishing off West Africa, with ships often changing names and flags in order to evade sanctions over illegal fishing.
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http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-africa-sharks-tuna-20131125,0,393301.story#axzz2lqFGfeQG