France's Fleet Development Plan indicates the country plans to fish "better" and not "more", according to Dr. Michel Goujon, the director of French tuna-boat owners association, ORTHONGEL.
"French tuna purse seiners owners do not intend to produce more but to produce "better" (no tunas under 1.50 kilograms, better quality products). In fact, the last two purse seiners that have been flagged under this development plan have obtained a label of responsible fishing," said Mr Goujon in an interview with Atuna.com.
In rebutting pressure from ISSF and WWF to reduce worldwide tuna fishing, Mr Goujon says the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) have not pressured for reduced levels.
"Neither ICCAT nor IOTC have yet recommended a reduction of capacity but instead to keep capacity under a level of reference (which France is respecting and will continue to respect). Finally, NGOs like WWF mainly refer to the bluefin tuna fleet capacity when calling for its reduction," he said
France's Fleet Development Plan (FDP) shows that the country intends to increase its tuna fishing capacity from 4,638 to 23,430 tonnes in the Indian Ocean by 2015.
Source: www.atuna.com