Conservationists say the amount of Atlantic bluefin tuna traded last year was more than double the quota set

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

The amount of Atlantic bluefin tuna traded on the global market last year was more than double the quota set for the endangered fish, conservationists have warned.

The Pew Environment Group said that after a decade of heavy overfishing of the tuna in the Mediterranean, the body governing the fishery took action in 2008 to impose much lower quotas on catches in a bid to conserve the fish.

But analysis by Pew revealed that while the quota in 2010 was within the recommendations made by scientists for the first time, the amount traded on the market was 141% higher than the limits set.

The figure does not include black market sales of Atlantic bluefin tuna, which would push up the total catch of the fish even higher, Pew warned.

The total quota set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) between 1998 and 2010 was 378,698 tonnes, while the official catch reported by the body was 395,554 in that time.

But Pew estimates that the amount traded, excluding on the black market, was more than 490,000 tonnes - an extra catch of almost 100,000 tonnes which had a market value of €2bn (£1.8bn).

The report said that since 2008, legal and illegal catch of bluefin tuna, which is a sushi delicacy in Japan, had significantly dropped due to lower quotas which have been brought down from 29,082 tonnes that year to 13,525 tonnes in 2010.

Other measures brought in include a paper-based documentation system to more accurately track the amount of bluefin tuna caught and traded, plans for a reduction in the fleet's capacity, a ban on using planes over the Mediterranean to spot the fish and a shortened fishing season.

But Pew Environment Group warned the fishery "cannot be considered a success story" because a number of loopholes still existed, including the continued under-reporting of tuna being caught and transferred to "ranches" where they are fattened for market, the use of prohibited drift nets and illegal trading.

And the gap between the quota and what was actually being traded is growing, up from 31% above the permitted level in 2008 to more than double the quota in 2009 and 2010. Last year 141% more tuna was traded, the report found.

If overfishing continues at the same rate, based on stock levels analysed by ICCAT, the species has just a 24% chance of recovering by the target year of 2022, Pew said.

The environmental group is calling on ICCAT to take immediate action at their next annual meeting in November, in particular bringing in an electronic documentation system to better track catches and trading.

Lee Crockett, from Pew, said: "The paper-based catch documentation of the bluefin trade is rife with fraud and misinformation.

"An electronic system would provide more accurate information that can be easily shared and cross-checked instantly.

"Such a programme should also include a physical barcode for each bluefin, which could be easily administered and not be cost-prohibitive. This would allow the fish to be tracked from sea to plate."

Last year, efforts to list the fish as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, temporarily stopping the trade in the species, failed, leaving the management of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the hands of ICCAT.