Joe Borg, the EU Fisheries Commissioner, said that he wants to introduce the new measures as soon as possible, which will include banning the use of helicopters to spot large shoals, and allowing inspectors from one nation to check the boats of another.
The majority of bluefin tuna is fished in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In 2006 the allowable catch was 32,000 tons. This will drop to 29,500 this year, of which EU fishermen will be able to catch only 16,800 tons.
This article first appeared in the Ecologist March 2007
