Failed management of bluefin tuna

John Refalo (March 13) is correct in his reporting of comments made by members of the tuna penning industry and government officials after the Maltese premiere of our film about over-fishing, The End of the Line. My problem is that quite a lot of them displayed a disconnection from established scientific fact that is seriously concerning.

One official asserted that a listing of the species under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species was not expected to have any appreciable conservation effects. It is difficult to think what evidence he has to support that expectation. The expert panel of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation which backed the listing said it would "assist to ensure that recent unsustainable catches in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean are reduced".

I was surprised when Prof. Carmelo Agius, who represents the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers, challenged the moment in our film where the catch of bluefin in 2007, legal and illegal, was revealed to be 61,000 tons. In that year the scientific recommendation for a quota that would allow the stock to recover was 10,000 tons, the highest sustainable quota was 15,000 tons and the quota set by ICCAT 29,500 tons. Prof. Agius asserted that ICCAT had revised the real catch estimate and that 34,000 tons was now the official view. I have checked and that simply isn't true.

The rampant degree of illegality that ICCAT has presided over in the past decade and its failure to set quotas based on its own scientific advice are why a majority of countries in the EU believe that it has failed in managing the bluefin.

It was suggested at the screening that one of the reasons why an Appendix 1 listing might have no conservation effect is that Japan might take a reservation and other countries in the Mediterranean, perhaps Libya, might act likewise, effectively establishing a trading bloc of their own. This is wishful thinking. By declaring a reservation, Japan would be showing how isolated it was against a global consensus that the bluefin should be managed better. Its companies, including its airlines which would have to carry the tuna, would be vulnerable to consumer boycotts.

As to the assertion that Appendix 1 would mean the end of fishermen in Malta without guaranteeing the survival of the fish itself, the thing most likely to wipe out the livelihood of Maltese fishermen is the Ponzi scheme that is tuna penning, which is based on poorly accounted for and unsustainable catches. This is what has been wiping out the stock. It is wrong to suggest that fishermen will not be allowed to fish outside the 12-mile limit - other countries are declaring fisheries management areas, mini EEZs, far larger than that. And tuna caught in Malta would still be tradeable throughout the EU single market.

Mr Refalo refers to comments by Minister George Pullicino who asked why the Eastern Atlantic bluefin stock had been singled out other species such as cod and whiting had already collapsed.

This is a reasonable question. Many people, including WWF, have been trying to get the EU to ban cod fishing in the North Sea until stocks recover.

But it is unlikely that a global Cites listing would be the instrument they could use to bring about such a ban as the species is actually in relatively good shape (and far better managed) in Norwegian and Icelandic waters.

What is wholly mischievous is Mr Refalo's suggestion that no one on the panel, including myself, gave a satisfactory answer to Mr Pullicino's question.

We weren't able to be heard because Mr Pullicino's rabble-rousing speech stirred up a barrage of shouting from tuna fishing interests which drowned out anything we attempted to say.

Having caused this disturbance, Mr Pullicino scuttled off without waiting for the noise to die down or for his question to be answered.

I really do wonder why the Maltese people put up with the failure of its government at so many levels to engage properly with the conservation of the bluefin, one of Malta's most valuable resources.

The way the bluefin is being managed at present, tragedy is inevitable. It is just a matter of when.

Editor's Note: This letter was written before the vote taken in Doha on whether to ban international trade in tuna.