Oversized Spanish tuna boats threatening Pacific food security Tarawa, 13 November, 2014: Food security in Pacific countries like Kiribati could be under threat if oversized tuna vessels such as the Spanish owned Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno are allowed to continue fishing at current rates, Greenpeace said today. The warning follows today’s release of a new report naming the Spanish boats among the world’s most destructive fishing vessels and a video featuring fishermen from Kiribati experiencing dwindling tuna catches and struggling to feed their families. “Local Kiribati fishermen say it’s getting harder to catch tuna to feed their families, and this observation matches current science on the state of Pacific tuna,” said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Lagi Toribau. “Bigeye tuna is down to just 16 per cent of its original population size,[1] and foreign longliners and purse-seine vessels like the Spanish owned Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno are largely to blame,” he said. “These two vessels catch as much tuna in three fishing trips as the entire Kiribati artisanal fleet catches in a year.” The Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno are two of the largest tuna fishing boats in the world. The two vessels fish in the Kiribati economic exclusion zone under a bilateral agreement with the EU. Unlike the local Kiribati fishermen who fish sustainably, the Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno employ fish aggregation devices (FADs) that result in juvenile bigeye and yellowfin being caught before they have had a chance to breed and the Albacora Uno has been repeatedly fined for illegal fishing in the Pacific. “For most Kiribati people, tuna is the primary source of protein - on some islands, it is the only source. If Kiribati people can’t catch tuna, they go hungry,” said Mr Toribau. “Meanwhile, the company behind the Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno - Albacora group - is the biggest tuna fishing company in Europe, with revenues roughly triple the GDP of Kiribati.” “Pacific island countries receive less than 10% of the value of their fisheries. How is that fair?” “The EU should pay a fair price and respect Pacific fishing rules or take its monsterboats and leave,” said Mr Toribau. “That means negotiating fairly and signing a new deal in line with regional agreements to manage fish stocks collectively,” said Mr Toribau. The EU must play its part in reducing foreign fishing capacity in the region to allow bigeye and other tuna stocks to recover and local, sustainable fisheries in Pacific Island countries to flourish,” he added. Greenpeace launched a global campaign last week calling on people to support low impact fishers and help ensure fair fishing. By focusing attention on some of the top culprits of global overfishing, the campaign challenges governments to eliminate excessive fishing capacity and to give preferential access to fishing opportunities to low-impact fishers as required under the new EU Common Fisheries Policy[2]. Greenpeace is urging Pacific Island countries, over time, to transform their fisheries to a local, sustainable model. Photo Captions: Greenpeace are in Tarawa to document the challenges the people of Kiribati are facing towards their livelihood and survival, from climate change and overfishing. 1. Artisanal fishermen line fishing for tuna, using a lure and dragging it behind the boat. While many of the modern tuna purse seiner use helicopters to search for tuna schools, the local fishermen are following the birds. The nation is considered one of the least developed and poorest countries in the world with people whose livelihoods depend on the fish. Since the arrival of foreign fishing vessels in Kiribati waters, the catches for the local fishermen have been reduced. 2. 8 years old Tokabwebwe Teinaura from the village Te O Ni Beeki, helping the fishermen carrying a yellowfin tuna to the shore on Tarawa Island, Kiribati. Just like his father and grandfather, he wants to become a fisherman when he grow up. Kiribati is considered one of the least developed and poorest countries in the world with people whose livelihoods depend on the fish. Since the arrival of foreign fishing vessels in Kiribati waters, the catches for the local fishermen have been reduced. 3. The total catch of Skipjack and Yellowfin tunas at the bottom of a local artisanal fishing boat. Local people are dependent on tuna as their protein while the foreign industrial fishing fleet export their catch making it harder for them to fish and get food.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 02:08:36 +0000
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