WRITTEN QUESTION P-4153/97 by Antonio Tajani (UPE) to the Commission (7 January 1998)

Subject: Total admissible catches of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean

According to ICCAT recommendations the total volume of catches of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean need to be reduced by 25%. They are caught not only by the Community fleet, but also by a large number of fishing boats from third countries. In this connection the Community has just adopted or is about to adopt a series of conservation measures which concern the Community fleet exclusively and are designed to ensure that stocks of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean are protected:

- Regulation 1075/96 ((OJ L 142, 15.6.1996, p. 1)), which prohibits fishing for bluefin tuna using surface-set longlines from vessels more than 24 m in length between 1 June and 31 July each year;

- a proposal to amend Regulation No 1626/94 (COM(97) 459 final ((OJ C 337, 7.11.1997, p. 36))), which prohibits fishing for bluefin tuna with purse seines during the month of August, prohibits the use of aircraft in support of fishing operations in the month of June and specifies the minimum sizes of fish to be landed;

- a 20% reduction in bluefin fishing, specified as one of the objectives of MGP IV, for the Italian fleet.

Since these are recent provisions it is at present impossible to estimate accurately the positive impact that such measures will have on the stocks concerned.

The Commission is now proposing (COM(97) 0598 final) to introduce a further restriction on bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, by establishing a total admissible catch (TAC) for the Community fleet.

Can the Commission therefore say:

1. on what scientific data this TAC is based, since many other non-Community fleets catch bluefin tuna and it is therefore impossible to estimate the total catches of this species;

2. whether it is aware that this measure will be highly discriminatory and will penalize the Community fleet and have repercussions on commercial competition;

3. whether it does not consider that more effective global management of fish stocks in the Mediterranean can be ensured only by the General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and that therefore that authority should be the one to identify appropriate conservation measures?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (30 January 1998)

The catch restrictions on bluefin tuna proposed by the Commission respond to the recommendations adopted by the International commission for the conservation of Atlantic tunas (ICCAT) in 1194, which entered into force in October 1995. These were based on the scientific work carried out in the framework of the standing committee for research and statistics (SCRS), the scientific body of ICCAT. The SCRS is constituted by scientists of contracting parties to ICCAT, and scientists from other countries are also invited to participate in the assessments.

This measure is not discriminatory for the Community, since ICCAT recommendations are binding on all contracting parties. Moreover, the General fisheries council for the Mediterranean (GFCM) endorsed in 1995 the same recommendations, and therefore these are binding on all GFCM member countries, which in practice means all Mediterranean countries. Finally, in accordance with the law of the sea, all fishing countries are obliged to collaborate with international management bodies and with coastal states in the management of these stocks.

The Commission agrees with the last statement of the Honourable Member. As pointed out above, GFCM has already endorsed ICCAT's recommendations.