Photograph by Mark Conlin
[VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL] – The 20th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) concluded today. ICCAT members, including Canada as one of the 51 member governments, agreed to maintain the current quota for the western stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna. However, regarding the eastern stock of bluefin as well as measures for Mediterranean swordfish, and bigeye tuna, ICCAT Parties made decisions outside of the scientific advice. ICCAT also failed once again to adopt meaningful conservation measures for sharks, though minor progress was made. The Halifax-based environmental organization, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), attended the meeting as observers for the 7th year in a row– and as the only Canadian civil society group present.
ICCAT agreed to a rollover of the quota for western Atlantic bluefin tuna, the population found in Atlantic Canadian waters, which will have a new stock assessment next year. Following the next assessment, countries will have new information on the health of the eastern and western populations with which to make decisions on quota in the future. ICCAT also committed to workplans for establishing harvest strategies for tunas and swordfish which, when implemented, can help simplify the decision-making process around quotas and ensure they are set according to a pre-agreed, science-based rule.