Ask the Spanish government to create a marine reserve for bluefin tuna

In March, a proposal was placed before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species which would have banned international trade in bluefin tuna. It failed. So once again, the tuna fishing season has begun in the Mediterranean, even though bluefin tuna face extinction.

However, the Spanish government has the opportunity to take the initiative and set an example by creating a marine reserve for bluefin tuna in the Balearic Islands. The waters south of these islands are one of the bluefin's key breeding grounds, making it the ideal location for a reserve to help protect this iconic species.

The Balearic government, supported by Balearic stakeholders and citizenship, is pressing for the creation of a bluefin tuna sanctuary in the Balearic Islands. The decision now rests in the hands of the Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs.

Ask the Spanish environment minister Elena Espinosa to create the Balearic marine reserve to help protect bluefin tuna and other species.

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Dear Mrs Elena Espinosa,

I am writing to you to impress the urgent need for a Balearic marine reserve to help protect bluefin tuna.

After the recent failure at the CITES meeting, urgent conservation measures are required to protect bluefin tuna, the marine ecosystem and the future of traditional tuna fisheries. The Atlantic bluefin tuna population has been reduced to just 15% of its former abundance. This is the result of poor management conducted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, which over the last 10 years has allowed the rampant overfishing and illegal fishing of bluefin tuna.

The Spanish government has an obligation via both the Mediterranean Regulation and the Common Fisheries Policy to establish protected areas for fisheries, with a priority for the spawning ground of endangered species. The waters south of the Balearic Islands clearly meet these requirements as it is one of the most important areas for breeding and spawning of bluefin tuna. Yet, despite this, purse-seine fishing is permitted when tuna gather to breed.

The Balearic marine reserve proposal, supported by the Balearic government itself and even Mitsubishi Corporation (the largest trader in Atlantic bluefin), would represent a major step towards the conservation of bluefin tuna and would position Spain as an international leader in protecting the marine environment.

As a citizen concerned about the future of our oceans and their resources, I urge you to take advantage of this unique opportunity that the Spanish government has to avoid bluefin tuna population from collapsing in the coming years, and create the Balearic marine reserve.

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Ask the Spanish government to create a marine reserve for bluefin tuna