JBA.....A few tuna caught on rod and line off Cyprus is not going to make a whole lot of difference!
The proposed ban was for a science-based recovery plan for the East Atlantic and Mediterranean stock which contains and enables the implementation of measures in accordance with the recommendations of the SCRS in 2008, and specifically to ban industrial fishing β particularly purse seining - during the entire spawning season (May, June and July), and to adhere to the scientific advice on Total Allowable Catch (TAC), and to consider a mandatory fleet-reduction scheme.
Also a study by Mackenzie et al. (2009) concludes that even if a near-complete ban on all bluefin tuna fishing in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean were implemented and enforced from 2008 to 2022, the population would still probably fall to record lows in the next few years.
I am not particularly a 'do-gooder' and certainly not a 'tree-hugger'. I have been shooting and fishing (mainly marine) all of my life. My biggest bluefin tuna was a 185kg specimen caught aboard Striker 2 out of Beau Vallon Bay on Mahe in the Seychelles. I have fished all over the world and owned boats in several countires (and my only interest in a boat is fishing). So I do know what I am talking about.
I fished when I first came here in 2005 but after the 2009 CITES report I decided to stop - I sold my boat and haven't fished since. My conscience won't allow it because EVERY fish makes a difference when stocks are virtually extinct. I am sure the last man to kill a dodo said the same, "Oh - one more won't matter!".
So mock and sneer if you want - I live by my standards not yours.