The meeting is taking place in the wake of last month's
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT) meetings failure to halt fishing on the threatened bluefin
tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
"Both the bigeye and yellowfin tuna are now over fished and in
danger of disappearance if urgent action to cut the regions catch
by 50% is not taken this week here in Guam" said Greenpeace Oceans
Campaigner, Lagi Toribau.
The bluefin tuna as well as smaller bigeye and yellowfin tunas,
all which are highly prized for sushi, are severely depleted in all
oceans. If the decline in Pacific tuna stocks follow the same
collapse pattern as found elsewhere in the world, it would result
in a
financial and food security disaster. The Pacific provides
around 65% of the world's tuna, making it a central element of the
regions economy, as well as it being a staple food source in the
region.
"Many of the same countries who are responsible for the
continuous failure of the ICCAT and other tuna management bodies
are lining up in Guam this week. This is the most remote tuna
meeting on the planet, making decisions over the most abundant
remaining tuna stock. Another failure to preserve stocks, as
happened at ICCAT, will consign the industry to fishing itself to
death," warned Sari Tolvanen, Greenpeace
International Oceans campaigner, in Guam.
Pirate fishing, conservatively estimated to be worth over 9
billion USD a year, is rampant in the Pacific. This unreported
catch is further placing the stocks in peril and distorting
scientific estimates of the stock status. In addition, climate
change may have
unpredictable effects of tuna abundance and breeding in the
region.
"In order to protect the tuna stocks, as well as the wider
marine ecosystems, large-scale marine reserves should be urgently
established in the high seas pockets of the Pacific, in between the
Pacific Island country waters" continued Tolvanen.
In order to curb pirate fishing, Greenpeace is also calling on
the Commission to ban all at sea transfers of fish from one vessel
to another; and for it to establish a publicly available and
accurate blacklist of known pirate operators in the region.
Other contacts: For further information contact:Sari Tolvanen, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner, in Guam.Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific Oceans Campaigner, In Guam.Both available on +16716866051