BRIEFS: Environment

Mainstream Conservation groups criticize IATTC

The Humane Society, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and several other prominent scientific and conservation organizations have expressed deep dissatisfaction over the failure of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to adopt measures aimed at protecting various species of tuna whose populations have been significantly reduced by the tuna fishing industry. The IATTC held its annual meeting in Panama last month.

In an official statement issued yesterday, eight nongovernmental organizations called the IATTC meeting a disaster because of the Commission's failure to establish adequate measures for tuna conservation, the yellowfin and giant bluefin tuna in particular.

The statement noted that even though the IATTC itself acknowledged the diminution of the tuna populations in the eastern Pacific Ocean, it rejected the concerned groups's proposals for preventing overfishing and for allowing the threatened populations to recover. One reason for the reduction in their numbers is the increased capture of young tuna before they reproduce. The increased capacity and efficiency of the tuna fishing fleet accounts for the depletion of tuna populations, too.

According to the statement, Colombia was the greatest obstacle to in the negotiation process.