P.E.I. fishery official fears tuna ban on horizon

P.E.I. fishery official fears tuna ban on horizon

CHARLOTTETOWN - There's growing speculation that the entire Atlantic tuna fishery, perhaps even the global fishery, could be shut down at an international meeting soon.
Ed Frenette, executive director of the P.E.I. Fisherman's Association, said yesterday that pressure is mounting for a ban from wildlife conservation groups in the wake of an alarming decline in tuna catches around the world, including the eastern United States.

American fishermen may even be among those calling for the fishery's closure, said Frenette.
"They really don't have much of an industry," he said.
The ban could come during a meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, slated for late November in Morocco.

Tuna fishermen in the Maritimes have enjoyed robust landings, but that isn't the case in much of the rest of the world.
Frenette noted that the 150 tonnes allocated to Island fishermen this year "is just a drop in the bucket" compared to global quotas.
He said there's a chance the only fishery remaining in Atlantic Canada for bluefin will be a sports fishery.