A new report from WWF - 'Spatial management to support recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean' - claims that a closure of the Mediterranean bluefin fishery in the months of May and June when adults aggregate in the Mediterranean to spawn, and the establishment of permanent sanctuaries in key spawning zones such as the waters around the Balearic Islands, would greatly benefit the stock recovery of this fragile species.

The management plan adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in November 2006 has allowed fishing during the peak spawning period, and a quota twice the level scientifically recommended to recover the stock. This plan has proved to be a complete failure, with widespread violation of ICCAT rules and real catches largely exceeding the new quota, WWF claims.

It says that, with the 2008 season having only just begun, there has already been evidence of illegal fishing by pirate vessels.

In March 2008, WWF claimed that the purse seine fleet harvesting bluefin in the Mediterranean has a huge structural overcapacity, with a yearly catch potential 3.5 times the sustainable level advised by ICCAT scientists. It said that the overcapacity trend was found to be still worsening, with new large tuna purse seiners recorded as being constructed in many Mediterranean countries.

"Given the risk of imminent collapse in this fishery, management measures need to be urgently adopted - tailored to the current situation of structural overcapacity, in such a way that bloated fishing capacity is no longer translated into bloated catches," WWF said today.

WWF is now calling for the implementation of "drastic time and area closures" as part of the new management plan. It claims this it the only realistic way to reduce catches by this "inflated fleet", and recover the stock. Such measures should include closing the fishery in May and particularly, in June, to industrial fleets, and the creation of no-fishing zones, it adds.

"ICCAT, at its crucial annual meeting in November 2008, must adopt a real recovery plan - one that constitutes management conservation measures aligned with scientific advice, including drastic time and area closures. In parallel, the capacity of the fleets targeting this species - particularly the numerous hi-tech purse seiners - needs to be drastically reduced.

"Until these measures are adopted and conditions for their full implementation are strictly secured, WWF continues to advocate the adoption of a moratorium of the fishery by ICCAT Contracting Parties, and the boycott of the trade and consumption of the species by global citizens, retailers, chefs and restaurateurs."

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