No tuna for Libya?

[boot]

http://af.reuters.com/article/invest...72U0NL20110331

[twofinbluna]

http://af.reuters.com/article/invest...72U0NL20110331

From what I have been told, most of the areas off Libya where bluefin are caught are within zones closed to both air and marine traffic. Blockade style. Not sure how many they will even be able to catch- and that goes for other countries who fish in those areas too. Again, been too busy to look into where the air/naval closures are but thats what I have been told and by people who usually are right when it comes to this stuff.

[Heli Sports]

There's alot you can read into this. For one thing, it's good to see Damanaki and the EU taking responsibilty for compliance in the Mediterranean Bluefin fishery. But there is a great deal of uncertainty about how things are going to play out in the Med this Spring.

Libya's Bluefin quota is only about 1000 metric tons. And while there is reason for concern about the country's ability to manage its fishery this season (Libya has 48 seiner vessels and four operational almadrabas), it's also questionable whether the infrastructure there is intact enough to be capable of tuna production, processing, logistics, etc.

Saif al Islam Gaddafi owns Ras Al Hilal Marine Services and controls Libya's Bluefin industry. Libya's representative to ICCAT, Hussein Zaroug, is a puppet of Gaddafi. Currently, I would imagine that Gaddafi has more pressing issues to deal with than commercial fishing. Although likely eager to cooperate and strengthen Libya's releationships with the EU and U.S. it's unclear whether Mustafa Abdel-Jalili's provisional government will be capable of dealing with fisheries issues.

The big question is really whether Jean Marie Avalone's seiners will be allowed to operate within the Gulf of Sidre this Spring. Because the traditional Bluefin spawning ground in the Balearic Sea is no longer a viable source of production, having been so fished out, a very large percentage of the stock for tuna fattening operations located throughout the Mediterranean Sea is captured on fishing grounds within Libyan waters. I find it difficult to believe that Vice Admiral Charles Leidig Jr. will permit the Medipeche seiners to set and transfer tuna anywhere near the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet, which is currently on station on or near the most productive Bluefin fishing fishing grounds in the Mediterranean Sea, the Medina Bank between Malta and Libya.

If the Libyan political situation remains unresolved in June, it potentially could disrupt a major part of Mediterranean Bluefin production and it may be very difficult for Ricardo Fuentes, Charlie Azzopardi and other ranchers to fill their cages...

http://yenfortuna.blogspot.com/2011/...political.html