An ongoing row between the European Union and coastal Indian Ocean nations over sustainable tuna fishing continues to simmer after a decision in early February quickly banned the usage of damaging driftnets regardless of opposition from the European bloc.
Civil society organizations despatched a petition Wednesday to the EU’s oceans and setting commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, accusing fisheries lobbies of exerting undue stress on Brussels to object to the ban which applies to fisheries units utilized by some companies within the bloc.
The much-criticized driftnets are “on the coronary heart of the European fleets” within the Indian Ocean, stated Claire Nouvian who heads the scientific non-governmental group Bloom and is among the signatories of the petition.
The EU is a significant shopper of tuna, and its highly effective fishing fleets trawl distant oceans to fulfill the continental demand.
Over 90% of tuna bought within the EU comes from the Indian Ocean and is caught by way of controversial fisheries aggregating units, in keeping with the Indian Ocean Tuna Fee.
The EU stated it had despatched a “complete proposal” on the driftnets that addressed considerations on utilization, plastic air pollution and marking gear. It added that it’s “supportive of the adoption of a powerful administration measure for yellowfin tuna and different tropical species.”
Susan Jackson, the president of the Worldwide Seafood Sustainability Basis, urged regional fisheries administration organizations to “cooperate, talk and collaborate” and to show to the science to chill down tensions between negotiating blocs.
In an interview with The Related Press, Jackson stated science may assist “depoliticize” decision-making which might in flip enhance “the sustainability of world tuna fisheries and the ecosystems that help them.” ___
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