The amount of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna traded on the global market in 2010 exceeded the official quota by 141 per cent, according to a new analysis commissioned by the Pew Environment Group.

Two years earlier, the amount traded exceeded the quota by 31 per cent. These figures do not account for “black market” bluefin missing from official databases.

This analysis highlights the gap between the quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna allowed to be caught in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the amount traded on the international market during the period of 1998-2010.

In 2008, in response to plummeting bluefin tuna populations in the Mediterranean, member governments of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the organisation responsible for managing tuna and similar species in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, adopted stronger enforcement and trade measures.

These included lower catch limits and a paper-based documentation system designed to more accurately record the amount of bluefin caught and traded. The new analysis clearly shows that despite those efforts, significant problems with illegal and unreported fishing remain. 

The Pew Environment Group urges ICCAT member governments to take immediate action to improve compliance with bluefin tuna catch quotas by ensuring that an electronic documentation system is in place for the 2012 fishing season.