World cuts southern bluefin tuna quota 20 per cent
Updated
The world's southern bluefin tuna fishing industry has just taken a hit worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Following a major international meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island late last week, quotas have been cut worldwide by 20 per cent, and Australia - the largest fisher of southern bluefin tuna - must now cut its catch by 30 per cent.
This has been welcomed by scientists who've warned that this valuable fish is now perilously close to extinction.
Presenter: Stephen McDonell, China Correspondent
Speaker: Brian Jeffriess, Tuna Association's CEO; Alistair Graham, high seas policy adviser for Worldwide Fund for Nature
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STEPHEN MCDONELL: In five weeks the Australian fishing season for the Southern Blue Fin Tuna will get underway. This is an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Australia, and many in the industry have gone into debt big time to prepare for the season. It's a major investment but the returns have also been huge. Unfortunately for this industry, the Southern Blue Fin Tuna has also been fished to rapacious levels in the past. Japan especially is accused of taken 200,000 tonnes above its allowable catch over two decades. The nations which catch the Southern Blue Fin met here on South Korea's Jeju Island and were given scientific data. This secret report found that spawning stocks are at 5 per cent of 1940s levels.
Presented with this data, there was no choice but to cut the catch. Even the Australian Tuna Association agreed. So it was announced - a 20 per cent cut internationally, but different countries would have different levels and Australia got a 30 per cent cut.
The Tuna Association's CEO Brian Jeffriess says he didn't mind a cut, but that this one is unfair.
BRIAN JEFFRIESS: Obviously we have the biggest interests in the world in this species and Port Lincoln totally relies on it. If it's got a problem then Port Lincoln's got a problem. Now, we listen to the scientists. We may differ in some details from their view, but quite clearly there had to be a cut and we always expected a cut. The problem with this one is the pain is not shared equitably at all.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: This meeting, under the control of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Blue Fin Tuna, has actually been quite a cordial affair. Scientists, NGOs, diplomats and fishing industry representatives came to this decision through consensus. To achieve this compromise was necessary.
Alistair Graham is high seas policy adviser for the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Though many scientists won't be happy with this result, he says it's still significant.
ALISTAIR GRAHAM: All we've really managed to achieve is stabilise the stock, reduce the chances of collapse, which is something and in the world of tuna land that's probably a good decision. But we desperately need more cuts if we're going to get a rebuild.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: Of course this new agreement will only have an impact to the extent to which participating nations make it work, and illegal fishing of Southern Blue Fin Tuna will probably still take place in international waters. But if more isn't done in the future to bring about a bigger recovery then this lucrative trade will disappear forever.
