The first certification of bluefin tuna issued in the mediterranean sea:
the ecocrest© label provided for the 2009 productions of two tradional tuna traps in sardinia
Antonio Di Natale – Piero Addis
SUMMARYThe difficult situation of the recent management of the Eastern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) indirectly needs initiatives able to distinguish the best practices and the transparency of the fishing activities. The traditional tuna traps, with their long history, are important either for a sustainable production point of view or for cultural reasons. For the very first time, in 2009 it was possible to release the ECOCREST© certification to a Mediterranean fishery and this was possible with two ancient tuna traps in Sardinia (Italy): the tuna trap of Isola Piana and the tuna trap of Portoscuso, owned by the same company. The certification and the use of the ECOCREST© label will allow the consumers to distinguish this product on the market and to have a serious guaranty about the respect of the fishery, environmental and labour rules and the ethics of the production.
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The eastern atlantic bluefin tuna:
entangled in a big mess, possibly far from a conservation red alert.
Some comments after the proposal to include the bluefin tuna in cites appendix I
Antonio Di Natale
SUMMARYThe Eastern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is facing a difficult management situation since more than one decade, when the tuna caging activities had begun to be common in several Mediterranean countries, inducing a sort of “gold rush” and a lot of additional problems in the data collection. This was the major issue, along with the prolonged data deterioration and the following growing unreliability of the stock assessments carried out by SCRS/ICCAT. But these are only the last issues of an old situation where partial and unreliable data, a very partial biological knowledge of this species, a marginal ethological knowledge, and a very minor knowledge of the effects of environmental changes on bluefin tuna biology and distribution, along with some scientists reading only a part of the immense literature on bluefin tuna are feeding a sort of incredible game, where some economic interests are trying to push the free fishery (or, on the opposite, a closed fishery when necessary) and environmental groups are pushing for a full protection of the species, to prevent an hypothetical collapse. It is hard for a scientist following this fishery and the ICCAT meetings since decades to assist in silence, looking at this dispute going on in various fora. It is difficult particularly because most of the individuals concerned are good scientists and because the conservation of this species is a must, along with the ancient culture linked to this fishery. It is difficult exactly like finding reliable data to bring the discussion along the reality. In this paper, the author discusses the main issues, on the basis of his experience at sea and in various international scientific fora, trying to provide more arguments for discussion and a better understanding of the situation, with the purpose to help in bringing the analysis on the status of this iconic species as much as possible along a rail of reality.
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