Overfishing has caused swordfish numbers to decline considerably since the 1980s and the population is now 70 percent lower than what is considered sustainable, the marine conservation charity Oceana has warned the EU.
They are asking the European Union to urgently adopt a Mediterranean swordfish management plan that will restore the stock to sustainable levels before it is too late. This the charity says should include the setting of a catch limit take measures that will ensure its recovery
“The European Union is blatantly ignoring its obligation to manage stocks at sustainable levels by 2015, or by 2020 at the very latest,” said Maria Jose Cornax, Fisheries Campaign Manager for Oceana Europe.
“By not adopting measures now, the EU would be duplicating the same costly mistake that brought bluefin tuna to the verge of collapse in the past.”
Swordfish are currently being overfished by more than 12,000 vessels, of which 90 percent are EU-flagged and 60 percent are Italian, and at the moment 75 percent of their catches are juvenile swordfish that will never have the chance to reproduce.
Dr. Ilaria Vielmini, Marine Scientist with Oceana in Europe, said: “The stock remains mismanaged despite a decade of overfishing. Italy, as the nation that both dominates the fishery and holds the Presidency of the EU, has a particular obligation to lead the recovery of such an important species.”
The warning comes ahead of the upcoming International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting on 10-17 November in Genoa, Italy, which Oceana will be attending as an observer. They will be calling for precautionary management of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, Mediterranean swordfish, and sharks.
source http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/swordfish-decline
