THE European Commission’s handling of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery has been bitterly criticised by the USA.
Rebecca Lent, director of international affairs for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, says: “The European Commission recently closed the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery to purse seine fishing by member states two weeks before the end of the regular season.
“While the EC action was the right one, it highlights the EC’s continued inability to manage this fishery effectively – a management failure that has been exacerbated by extensive overcapacity in the EC purse seine fleet.
“Stringent
