The tuna fishing season has begun again in the Mediterrian, even though bluefin tuna face extinction. 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.
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 Spanish 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 key species.
Minister of Rural and Marine Affairs
Elena Espinosa
Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C.
2375 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
Tel. (1) 202 728 2339
Fax (1) 202 728 2320
E-mail- info@mapausa.org
General Secretariat of the Sea
Mr Juan Carlos Marin Fragueiro
D.G. for the Sustainability of the Coast and Sea
Ms. Alicia Paz Antolin
Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Spain
Ms. Lucía Campos Zambrano
Ms. Teresa Barres Benlloch
E-mail: compraverde-age@marm.es
The tuna fishing season has begun again in the Mediterrian, even though bluefin tuna face extinction. 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.
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 Spanish Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs.
We ask the Spanish environment minister Elena Espinosa to create the Balearic marine reserve to help protect bluefin tuna and other key species.
