Much is on the agenda for the meeting of The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) this week and much is expected (or hoped, to be more realistic) by various national and international interests – ranging from conservationists to the tuna industry.

ICCAT is the international body responsible for the management and conservation of tunas in the Atlantic Ocean.  Forty-eight countries (including US and Japan) are contracting parties to ICCAT.  In the past, it has been criticised by conservation organisations for setting catch quotas too high and not dealing with illegal fishing.  Even amongst their members, reservations and cynicism are becoming more apparent.  US Commissioner Rebecca Lent stated: “We think ICCAT is the body that should be managing Bluefin tuna, and this is its chance to prove it can do so effectively,”

Critics also accuse ICCAT of ignoring its own scientists (who agreed at their meeting last month that Bluefin tuna stocks had dropped so low that the species now meets the criteria for a formal ban on its commercial trade).

Member states have differing stances on how to deal with stock depletion.  Monaco led the call in regulating the tuna trade through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) .    This has received wide support from European Union nations.  The US supports an ICCAT-backed system of quotas but supports a trade ban if it becomes necessary.  Canada has called on ICCAT to enforce greater compliance to its rules by member nations.

Many conservation groups support a complete suspension of the fisheries.  They are calling on a zero quota to enable adequate recovery of Bluefin stocks.  WWF’s Bluefin page states: “The only way to allow the recovery of bluefin tuna stocks in the Atlantic and Mediterranean - and ensure a sustainable fishing industry – is to temporarily ban global trade through CITES.”  Studies to go forward to the next CITES meeting report that Atlantic Bluefin stocks have fallen by about 75 percent from 1957 to 2007, with 60 percent of that loss occurring in just the past ten years.  The problem is most severe in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, where the majority of Bluefin tuna stocks are found.

“ICCAT has continually disregarded countless opportunities to do the right thing and secure the Atlantic bluefin tuna,” according to the Washington-based Pew Environment Group.

While overfishing and depletion – especially surrounding the Bluefin –  is at the top of the list, there are those representing other important interests in the politics of tuna.

Bird bycatch is a serious problem with catching tuna.  According to scientists for the RSPB, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International, albatrosses are killed on fishing lines at a rate of one every five minutes.  RSPB is lobbying ICCAT to tighten regulation of longline fishing for tuna and swordfish.

Shark bycatch is also a serious problem in the tuna industry.  Around 100 million sharks are caught by commercial and sports fishing each year, and several species have declined by more than 80 percent in the past decade alone, The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) claims: “ICCAT needs to set science-based sustainable catch limits on the number of sharks that can be killed and prohibit the retention of exceptionally vulnerable sharks species such as the big-eyed thresher.”

Strong representation will be made by nations dependent on the tuna industry and by those nations who consume large quantities.  While only making up three percent of the world’s tuna market, Bluefin is extremely valuable, fetching premium prices in Japan.  Conservation groups have accused ICCAT of being unduly swayed by Japan, the biggest international importer of Bluefin.

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