requiem for a blue fin tuna, an international trade analysis (1998 2009)

REQUIEM FOR A BLUEFIN TUNAAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE ANALYSIS (1998/2009)

OCTOBER 22ND 2009

Uncovering the relentless overfishing of a collapsed fish stock

A report by ATRT,sl.®© October 22nd 2009

Uncovering the relentless overfishing of the King of Sushi...

The Report’s findings are based on a Trade-Flux Block-Crosscheck Analysis Approach, where BFT trade data extracted from the following official sources is cross-checked and validated:

ICCAT: 1998/2008 SCRS Task I Catch Data2008/2009 BCD database Catch Data2007/2008 CoC CPs reports 2005/2008 CPs’ Bi-annual StatisticalDocument Declarations

Eurostat: 1998/2008 CN8 Trade Data

Croatia Chamber of Economy(Agriculture, Food Industry & Forestry Department)

Japanese Customs: 1998/2008 HS9 Trade Data

US Dept. of Agriculture: 1998/2008 HS10 Trade Data

...fuelled by the insatiable appetite of a global Tuna Cartel.

Japanese Tuna fishing industry World map of principal targeted Tuna fishing grounds

Yearly variation of ≈ € 12.000 million worth Total NEA + MED BFT catch

Overkill logistics in a “Peak-BFT” scenario (1)

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Mediterranean BFT Ranching CapacityVs.

Frozen BFT Holdings in Japan(All values in Kgs)

Overkill logistics in a “Peak-BFT” scenario (2)

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Yearly variation of operative Mediterranean BFT Purseiners by ICCAT Contracting Parties(More than 35,5% increase in fishing capacity in just over a decade)

Overkill logistics in a “Peak-BFT” scenario (3)

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Yearly variation of operative BFT Reefer Vessels registered with ICCAT(Freezing & carrying capacity of frozen BFT has almost doubled in just over a decade)

Systematic BFT catch under-reporting by ICCAT Contracting Parties...

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

ICCAT NEA+MED adjusted yearly BFT quotas & reported catchesVs.

WR/Weight equivalent of yearly traded Fresh & Frozen NEA+MED BFT(All values in Kgs)

...and total lack of political will to tackle a business gone wild

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Yearly variation of IUU MED+NEA BFT catches(All values in Kgs)

A €3.076 million tax-free IUU BFT loot, stolen in

just over a decade by a heavily subsidised BFT fishing & ranching industry

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Yearly variation of NEA+MED IUU BFT catch value

(All values in €)

• Massive BFT catch underreporting• Widespread use of illegal Tuna spotting aircrafts• Uncontrolled increase of the Mediterranean BFT purse-seiner fishing

fleet• Illegal transhipments at sea• Fake fattening ratios to launder unreported catches• Faulty BFT Stock Assessments by ICCAT-SCRS based on phoney catch

reports• Fake live-BFT carryovers from one year to the other• Widespread use of false BFT catch declarations & paper quota• Unreported IUU live-BFT inside Mediterranean Tuna ranches• Marketing of IUU BFT inside the EU• Massive catches of juvenile BFT below 30 Kgs

1998/2009: Over a decade of mismanagement savagery and wilful ignorance (1)

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Distribution among BFT trading countries of worldwide processed Fresh/Chilled & Frozen BFT Trade Fluxes (W/RW equivalent) for the period 1998 to June 2009.

(Values for Japan, Korea & Taiwan correspond to ex-Trade catches by such CPs)

1998/2009: Over a decade of mismanagement savagery and wilful ignorance (2)

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

Distribution among BFT importing countries of worldwide processed Fresh/Chilled & Frozen BFT Trade Fluxes (W/RW equivalent) for the period 1998 to June 2009.

(Values for Japan, Korea & Taiwan include ex-Trade catches by such CPs)

1998/2009: Over a decade of mismanagement savagery and wilful ignorance (3)

An international disgrace governed by a looting rationale

“Suppose that I stick to my quota, but others do not.

In this case BlueFins will get fished out, and everyone will be the looser in the longterm.

But I will be a looser in the short term as well, since by confining myself to thequota allocated to me I will suffer an immediate drop in income that others do not.Suppose on the other hand that I break my quota.

Then, if others break theirs, BlueFins get fished out, certainly, but I am not aspecial loser.

Contrariwise , if others keep to their quotas while I break mine, the stock will bepreserved to my long term benefit as well as theirs, but unlike them, I will notsuffer an immediate drop in income either.

So, whether other BlueFin Tuna fishing states ignore or observe their quotas, mybest strategy is to ignore mine, while blaming others for doing so.”

The most lucrative and hideous ongoing biocide in today’s world...

Chart by ATRT,sl.®©

“Aquacalypse now”: An intolerable tax-free loot by one of the most heavily subsidised fishing, ranching and trading industries worldwide. An unbearable scam in the eyes of

concerned tax-payers, namely in the European Union, by far the main culprit of such an international disgrace

... under our careless watch

“The reason for the failure in the management of Eastern Atlantic BlueFin tuna is that fishingcountries around the Mediterranean have not complied with ICCAT's regulatory measures. (...)If member States had abided by the quota, the present situation would never have happened.Basically, the most effective conservation measure is to close fishing in the spawning groundsduring the spawning season to all fisheries.”

Dr. Peter Makoto Miyake, Tuna scientistFormer Deputy Director General of ICCAT.

“I think a total ban in the Mediterranean which is a spawning ground is one of the biggest stepsforward for rebuilding the stock.”

Q. Will this save the species?

“I hope so, I expect so, but who knows… but it is far better than doing nothing.”Masayuki Kamatsu

Japanese former Fisheries MinisterTalking to ITN’s Lawrence McGinty

Tuna in troubles ITN/CNN

REQUIEM FOR A BLUEFIN TUNAAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE ANALYSIS (1998/2009)

OCTOBER 22ND 2009

ATRT,sl.®©