The Government of the Azores welcomed the 17% increase in the allocated quota for albacore tuna in the North Atlantic. The decision was taken in Marrakesh during the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The event is being attended by the representatives of more than 70 countries with tuna fishing fleets operating in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
 
The Regional Director for Fisheries pointed out that the increase in the quota assigned for this species "benefits Azorean fishers insofar as albacore fisheries registered a growth in auction sales."
 
During the ICCAT meeting, participants also adopted some important measures for the future management of tuna fisheries in the Azores, namely "the gradual increase of the bluefin tuna quota by 2020."
 
Luís Rodrigues also highlighted the maintenance of the bigeye tuna quota as well as of the exceptional scheme on skipjack tuna fisheries. The latter will allow Azorean shipowners to catch this species, also used by the regional canning industry, with no stipulated quota limit.
 
"These measures meet the demands and proposals of the Portuguese delegation to the European Commission," said Luís Rodrigues.
 
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Regional Director for Fisheries met with the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission and the newly appointed Executive Secretary of ICCAT. They have reached a "position of agreement" on the part of these institutions for "greater attention to pole-and-line fishing and the type of fishing practiced in the Azores."
 
In addition to the Regional Directorate for Fisheries, the Azores delegation at ICCAT included the following members: the researcher of the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries at the University of the Azores, João Gil, the President of the Azores Fisheries Federation, Gualberto Rita, and the Secretary-General of the Association of Tuna Producers and Similar Species (APASA), Pedro Capela.