The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an inter-governmental fishery organization, said on Nov. 15 that the annual quota for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean, would be 13,500 tons, down from the previously permitted 19,950 tons.

Huang Chao-ching, secretary-general of the non-governmental Taiwan Tuna Association, said that the decision will not have much impact on Taiwan because the main catches for Taiwanese fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean is bigeye tuna, and the quota for this kind of tuna is 16,500 tons.

The country's main bluefin tuna fishing grounds are in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator. The annual quota of bluefin tuna for Taiwan in this area is 1,000-1,600 tons, while the quota is 859 tons for the same kind of tuna in the Indian Ocean, Huang added.

Moreover, the quota cut for Atlantic bluefin tuna would have a bigger impact on European countries, Huang said, given the fact that Taiwan is only allowed to fish 70 tons of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea and its fishing vessels would have to work with nearby countries to operate in the area.

"The slashes on quota will benefit the conservation of bluefin tuna because the ICCAT not only downsized the quota but also put restrictions on fishing seasons and the number of fishing vessels, " Huang said.

"There is no point of overfishing since every tuna caught has to be declared or otherwise it cannot be sold," he added.

(By Emmanuelle Tseng and Rachel Chan)