Apostolos TzoumasFEAP Tuna Commission

Apostolos TzoumasFEAP Tuna Commission

European Tuna Farming Sector: Presentation and ChallengesEuropean Tuna Farming

Sector: Presentation and Challenges

Northern Bluefin Tuna Atlantic Northern Bluefin Tuna (NBT) Thunnus thynnus

(Commercially farmed in the Mediterranean) Pacific Bluefin Tuna (PBT) Thunnus orientalis

(Commercially farmed in West coast of Mexico and South Japan)Southern Bluefin Tuna Southern Pacific Bluefin Tuna (SBT) Thunnus maccoyi

(Commercially farmed in South Australia)Other Tuna species with farming potential that have been

raised in commercial trials or experimentally Yellowfin Tuna (YFT) Thunnus albacares Big-eye Tuna (BET) Thunnus obesus

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Tuna species farmed globally

Tuna farming: Presently a capture-based aquaculture activity but artificial propagation nearing commercial scale The European tuna farming sector still relies entirely, for its seed-stock

supplies, on the use of wild-caught fish that are caught by the specialized purse-seine fleets operating in the Mediterranean.

R&D projects for the artificial propagation of BFT in the EU and Japan in recent years produced significant results: the first hatchery bred BFT juveniles stocked in commercial farms in Japan (32,000 pieces in 2010) and in experimental cages Europe.

Geographical distribution of Northern Bluefin Tunas

Geographical Distribution of Southern Bluefin Tuna

Global Tuna Fisheries Production:7 Principal species of Tunas: around 4-4.5 million tons annually. Main

species: Skipjack 54%, Yellowfin 28%.

Bluefin Tuna Fisheries Production:

Present state of stock/fisheries mgt/outlook better that all other BFT species or stocks:

TAC (12,900tons/pa) and catches (

Principle Tuna Catches Per Species (000 MT) (Source: Globefish)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Skipjack

Yellowfin

Bigeye

Albacore

Bluefin

Canned Tuna Market:The biggest in volumeLowest value per unit weight of productMain species utilized: yellow-fin, skipjack, long-tail, alalunga.

Tuna Steak Market:Growing marketMedium pricesMain species: yellow-fin, big-eye.

Sashimi/sushi Market:Small volumeHigh valueConcentrated mainly in JapanMain species: principally the bluefin tunas (northern and southern), and to a

smaller extent big-eye, and yellowfin.

World Tuna Market Product Categories

Sashimi Tuna Species Wholesale Prices in Japan(source: JFIC)

Japan: Most important tuna importer country in the world(close to 300th. tons annually). Japanese Market Volume (in 000 tons annually):

Fresh FrozenBluefin: 15-20 30-35Big-eye: 25-30 125-135Yellowfin: 40-50 110-120Skipjack: 60-70 140-160Albacore: 10-20 20-30

200-250000 Japan controls ~90% of global sashimi/sushi tuna trade concentrated in the

hands of 5-10 Japanese trading houses. Japan imports >90% of the global farmed bluefin tuna production, which

constitutes approx. 80% of the total Japanese bluefin tuna imports.Average BFT import price in recent years: 18-21 Euro/kg (W/R basis).

Tuna Markets

Other markets for Bluefin tuna: EU: 3000 tons but relatively low value (av. price at first sale 6-9 Euro/kg).USA: ~4000 tons with a growing sashimi grade portion.

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European/Mediterranean tuna farming sector: Facts and Figures

Sector utilizes the finite and low value purse-seine fishery catch: 5,000 tons in 2010 (37% of total TAC) valued 30 mi. Euro to produce a value addition of more than 4-fold through: 40%+ weight increase from growth/fattening (7,000 tons output) 330% increase of sales price (from 6 to 20 Euro/kg) through quality

improvement: 99% sashimi grade output (from around 40% at start) and with optimum fat content (increased to 30%+ from 5-8% at start).

In the past 4 years the sector has been compelled to a forced volume reduction and restructuring due to reduced wild seed availability caused by TAC reductions, and governments restricting the TAC allocation given to the purse seiners sector in favor of other commercial gear.

Production and sales volumes reduced by >50% : 2010: No. of operating Farms in the Med. 17 (7 in the EU); Sales volume: ~9,500

tons W/R (50% in the EU); Turnover: ~180 mi. Euro; FT Employment: ~500. 2006: No. of operating Farms in the Med. 38 (18 in the EU); Sales volume: 24,500

tons W/R (60% in the EU); Turnover: ~400 mi. Euro; FT Employment: ~1,200. One would expect that the sector would benefit from a sales price increase

following the reduced supply to the market, however this did not happen because the competitor Japanese BFT farming sector aided by the regulatory deficits in the mgt of the Pacific BFT fisheries increased rapidly its output (>2.5 times in the same period) covering the void.

As a result of the above and also the cost of the new measures and procedures imposed, economies of scale deteriorated and profitability margins diminished.

The 2010 CITES listing proposal for Atlantic bluefin tuna (the epitome of this campaign) as is now proven to have been: hasty and heavily biased since on the basis of theoretical data claimed

that the stock in 2009 was reduced at

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Examples failure to update erroneous data

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Examples erroneous dataData submitted to ICCAT June 2010 as Greek ranched BFT exported fresh to Japan by: ATRT/GREENPEACE/MARVIVA/WWF (Ref. SCRS/2010/068)(claimed to have come from Japanese Fresh BFT Auction Market Daily Reports for the period: 1st July 2008 to 30th June 2009)

Number of

auctioned BFTs

Auction Date

Auction Market Origin

Weight of

Auctioned BFT

Price (/Kg) ( =

Unsold)

Number of

auctioned BFTs

Auction Date

Auction Market Origin

Weight of Auctione

d BFT (Kg)

Price (/Kg) ( =

Unsold)Year 2008 Year 2008

1 20/10/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 40 1 11/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 43 1 20/10/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 53 3000 1 11/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 45 30001 20/10/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 61 2300 1 11/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 53 33001 20/10/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 81 2400 1 11/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 87 23001 21/10/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 290 3595 1 11/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 87 44001 21/10/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 358 3535 1 19/11/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 24 21001 21/10/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 370 3835 1 19/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 26 23001 04/11/2008 FUNABASHIGreece (Ranched) 29 2000 1 19/11/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 27 30001 04/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 32 2700 1 19/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 27 22001 04/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 34 4200 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 27 20001 04/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 35 2800 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 31 1 04/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 37 4000 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 31 20001 04/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 44 3500 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 31 26001 04/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 47 3000 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 32 28001 04/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 72 1 19/11/2008 FUNABASHIGreece (Ranched) 33 1 06/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 31 3700 1 19/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 33 25001 06/11/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 32 3200 1 19/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 34 1 06/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 39 3500 1 19/11/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 39 33001 06/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 56 3500 1 19/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 42 30001 06/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 65 4000 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 48 1 08/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 55 3500 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 74 28001 08/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 55 3500 1 19/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 78 30001 08/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 61 3500 1 20/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 45 40001 08/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 84 3000 1 20/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 61 30001 10/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 29 2800 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 31,2 40001 10/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 30 2300 1 25/12/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 32 35001 10/11/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 33 1 25/12/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 32 45001 10/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 37 3500 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 32,8 20001 10/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 54 3500 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 34 1 10/11/2008 SENDAI Greece (Ranched) 64 3700 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 35,4 1 10/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 64 4000 1 25/12/2008 KAWASAKI Greece (Ranched) 40 1 10/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 79 3300 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 61 30001 11/11/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 38 1 25/12/2008 TOKYO Greece (Ranched) 65 2800

Year 20091 09/04/2009 SAPPORO Greece (Ranched) 195 3750

Tuna (Ranched) claimed to have been exported from Greece: Actual (Ranched) tuna exports from Greece in the ref. period:Period: Pieces Weight(kg)Av.W.(kg) Period: Pieces Weight(kg)Av.W.(kg)

1/7-31/12/2008 66 3910,4 1/7-31/12/2008 0 01/1-30/6/2009 1 195 1/1-30/6/2009 10 1125

Total: 67 4105,4 61,27 Total: 10 1125 112,50

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15

Global Farmed Bluefin Tuna Production(Estimated W/R equivalent sales weight at farm gate)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010est.

MT/

Year

BF