Environmentalists, tuna fisheries conflict over Indian Ocean non permanent ban on driftnets

An ongoing row between the European Union and coastal Indian Ocean nations over sustainable tuna fishing continues to simmer after a decision in early February quickly banned using harmful driftnets regardless of opposition from the European bloc.

Civil society organizations despatched a petition Wednesday to the EU’s oceans and setting commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, accusing fisheries lobbies of exerting undue strain on Brussels to object to the ban which applies to fisheries units utilized by some firms within the bloc.

The much-criticized driftnets are “on the coronary heart of the European fleets” within the Indian Ocean, mentioned Claire Nouvian who heads the scientific non-governmental group Bloom and is without doubt one of the signatories of the petition.

The EU is a serious client of tuna, and its highly effective fishing fleets trawl distant oceans to satisfy the continental demand.

Over 90% of tuna offered within the EU comes from the Indian Ocean and is caught via controversial fisheries aggregating units, in accordance with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

BUILDING COLLAPSE IN KENYA KILLS 3

Fishermen swim out from an incoming boat at a berth, some with their in a single day catch in Kwale county, Gazi Bay, Kenya, on June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

The EU mentioned it had despatched a “complete proposal” on the driftnets that addressed considerations on utilization, plastic air pollution and marking gear. It added that it’s “supportive of the adoption of a robust administration measure for yellowfin tuna and different tropical species.”

Susan Jackson, the president of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, urged regional fisheries administration organizations to “cooperate, talk and collaborate” and to show to the science to chill down tensions between negotiating blocs.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jackson mentioned science might assist “depoliticize” decision-making which might in flip enhance “the sustainability of worldwide tuna fisheries and the ecosystems that help them.” 

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