International action plan on tuna fishing adopted in Japan

Jan 26, 2007, 11:20 GMT

Tokyo - Delegates from some 60 nations adopted the first joint plan to combat overfishing of tuna at their meeting in the western Japanese city of Kobe Friday.

The plan calls for each nation to share information on fishing boats, cooperate in monitoring illegal fishing boats and report the outcome.

The first international meeting for sustaining tuna populations was not intended to set specific catch quotas for each member country and territory, local media reported.

The plan, though it is voluntary, encourages each nation to develop an international inspection system on the high seas, to establish proper penalties and sanctions for illegal fishing, and to introduce electronic-tagging systems.

More than 2 million tons of tuna were caught in 2004 around the world, and the catch has doubled in the past 20 years, according to data gathered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Japan, which initiated and hosted the five-day convention, is said to consume 25 per cent of the world's tuna fish for its traditional sushi and sashimi dishes.

The conference achieved more than expected, said Masanori Miyahara, a senior negotiator for Japan's Fisheries Agency who chaired the meeting. 'But this is only the beginning of some tough work that we have to handle from now.'

Some 300 members of fishing-related organizations and governments of 60 countries and regions attended the Joint Meeting of Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.

The five international bodies working to conserve tunafish sought more cooperation and coordination in battling against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

At the end of the meeting, World Wildlife Found criticized the conference for failing to produce any concrete measures but for agreeing only on the next meeting, which is slated for 2009.

'They have failed to agree any concrete actions,' the group said in a statement, adding that 'this inaction will result in further depletion of tuna populations, degradation of the oceans, loss of tuna to eat.