The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology, will organise the first international meeting on tuna fishing using pole-and-line gear on October 16 and 17.
The Regional Secretary for the Sea. Science and Technology stated that this event will bring together leaders from various countries, shipowners, fishers, associations, traders, industry, researchers and members of non-governmental organisations. It is intended to "recognise the value of traditional, environmentally friendly fishing technique that is also used in the Azores to catch tuna."
In this context, Gui Menezes stressed the need to "raise the awareness of the international community for the importance of defending pole-and-line gear as an environmentally sustainable technique." He added that the use of this type of fishing gear "should have a different treatment from industrial fishing insofar as it safeguards the preservation of tuna and respects the marine ecosystem," and does not harm marine animals such as dolphins.
The sustainability of tuna fishing has been a concern of the Regional Government, which, together with the European Commission and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), has defended the implementation of more restrictive measures for industrial tuna fishing. The latter is mainly based on purse seine gear and fish aggregation devices as well as on the creation of free sea corridors for such devices.
The sharing of best practices, the identification of challenges related to the use of traditional fishing gear in different regions and the assessment of the potential they represent in the enhancement of fisheries are some of the goals of the International on Pole-and-Line Fishing.
"This initiative is of great importance for all regions that still use pole-and-line fishing gear, namely the Azores, where fishers have been using this technique since the 1950s," said Gui Menezes. With the organisation of this conference, the Region assumes "a leading position in the defence of this traditional fishing technique worldwide."
The International Conference on Pole-and-Line Fishing, organised by the Regional Government in partnership with the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF), has already confirmed participants from ten countries, apart from Portugal, namely from the USA, South Africa, United Kingdom, Spain, Senegal, Cape Verde, Japan, Maldives, Germany and Belgium.
Those who are interested may obtain further information about this international meeting at the address www.obotunaconference.com