Accusations of overfishing and unfair practices are fuelling tensions at an international tuna summit being held this week on the French island of Réunion.
As concern grows over shrinking tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean, delegates from more than 30 countries have gathered for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission’s annual summit, hosted this year by France.
Scientists warn that tuna populations in the region remain under pressure after decades of intensive fishing. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes are caught each year, and campaigners say industrial fleets are taking an unsustainable share.
The five-day talks aim to set new rules on how much tuna can be caught – and by whom – in one of the world’s most intensely exploited oceans.
"We don't want factory ships taking all the fish in the sea and preventing small-scale fishers from earning a living," said French Ecological Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who opened the summit on Sunday.
But environmental groups say France and the European Union are among the biggest contributors to the problem, warning that EU-linked industrial fleets are themselves causing serious damage.
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Double standards?
“If we add up the catches from French and Spanish vessels, plus those financed by French or Spanish companies but flagged to the Seychelles, Mauritius, Tanzania, Oman, etc, it’s almost a third of all tuna catches in the Indian Ocean,” Frédéric Le Manach from the NGO Bloom told RFI.
“Clearly, France and the European Union need to clean up their own backyard before lecturing the entire world.”
Discussions behind the scenes are tense, with sharp disagreement over how to divide quotas fairly between countries.
“The real issue is having a fair and equitable distribution of fishing rights, which is not at all the case right now,” Le Manach added.
“We have a few major fishing powers, including the European Union, that have a disproportionate and obviously unacceptable impact compared to a marginalised small-scale fisher from Iran or Sri Lanka.”
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Fishing devices and bycatch
The summit is also focusing on harmful fishing techniques, including fish aggregating devices (FADs) – floating structures used to lure tuna that also trap other species and pollute the ocean.
“Today, between 15,000 and 20,000 fish aggregating devices are installed each year in the Indian Ocean,” said Le Manach.
“They also capture juveniles and species other than tuna. They are major sources of pollution that we could do without. We fished without them 20 years ago. This industrialisation of fishing must stop.”
The commission says it is considering new rules.
“We are seeking ways to limit the effects of bycatch on other fish species. Among the measures we are seeking to obtain is also the minimum size of albacore tuna to be fished,” IOTC head Paul de Bruyn told FranceInfo radio.
Efforts to limit the use of FADs have already faced resistance. While most IOTC members agreed in 2023 to scale back their deployment, the EU and South Korea opposed an immediate ban, calling instead for further studies and a phased approach through to 2026.
France now says it wants a “balanced approach” that weighs both environmental and economic needs.
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Réunion’s ageing fleet
Pannier-Runacher is also using the meeting to push for EU support to upgrade Réunion’s fishing fleet, which includes boats more than 40 years old.
“We’ve secured the funding. The issue isn’t the money – it’s getting the authorisation to support the renewal of about 50 fishing boats,” she said.
The minister plans to take European Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, who is attending the summit, to meet local fishers.
“I want to show him what Réunion fishing is,” she said. “I want to be the spokesperson for Réunion’s fishers facing Brussels.”
Some of the island’s boats consume large amounts of fuel, while others no longer meet safety standards. Local fishers are also being forced to go further from shore to find catchable stocks.
The IOTC summit runs until Friday.
