Int’l Conference on Bluefin Tuna Fails to Strike Agreement

Nagasaki, July 14 (Jiji Press)–An international conference to discuss the management of Pacific bluefin tuna stocks ended without reaching an agreement on catch quotas in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki on Tuesday. In the conference, which began Wednesday, Japan proposed a 25 pct expansion in the catch quota for Pacific bluefin tuna weighing 30 kilograms or more in 2027 and later, citing a stock recovery. As the proposal was opposed by Mexico, participating economies, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States, decided to continue discussions, although the date and place of the next meeting have not been decided. Japan called for increasing the overall catch quota for large bluefin tuna in the western and central Pacific to 14,836 tons from the current 11,869 tons, while reducing the quota for small fish under 30 kg by 6 pct to 4,823 tons from 5,125 tons. At this meeting, the participating economies discussed a new management system in which catch quotas would be automatically calculated based on the status of bluefin tuna stocks. They considered several options regarding the extent to which quotas should be expanded when stocks are abundant. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]