Mediterranean bluefin tuna: quota increase too much too 
soon
 
Genoa, Italy – As the International Commission for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) closes today its 
19th special meeting in Genoa, Italy, WWF expresses its 
concerns over the too rapid increase agreed to for the 
Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing quota, especially while 
little progress has been made to strengthen traceability in 
this fishery.

“It was a challenging meeting. It might seem a paradox, but 
the bluefin tuna case confirms that sometimes it’s more 
difficult to manage a success than a crisis”, declared Dr. 
Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries Programme at WWF 
Mediterranean. “It’s hard to apply the term 'moderate' to 
an annual increase of 20% over 3 years. We are concerned 
that the huge conservation efforts of the last years might 
quickly fade away”.