GTFC Responds To GONHS And ESG Tuna Quota Statement

The Gibraltar Tuna Fishing Club has responded to concerns raised by GONHS and ESG over Gibraltar’s Atlantic bluefin tuna quota.

A statement from the Gibraltar Tuna Fishing Club follows below:

The Gibraltar Tuna Fishing Club (GTFC) is disappointed by the recent press release issued by GONHS and the ESG regarding this year's increase in Gibraltar's Atlantic bluefin tuna quota. Unfortunately, it reflects a misunderstanding of how international tuna quotas are allocated and of the conservation status of the species.

GONHS and the ESG claim that Gibraltar's quota is "out of proportion to Gibraltar's size and territorial waters", comparing Gibraltar's allocation with that of Spain. This comparison fundamentally misunderstands the quota allocation process established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

ICCAT does not allocate quotas according to a country's population, land area or territorial waters. Instead, quotas are based on a range of recognised factors, including historical catches, fishing fleet capacity, established fishing rights and long-standing political agreements. Population, size and territorial waters are therefore irrelevant measures by which Gibraltar's allocation should be judged.

Even if one were to use population as a comparator, the figures do not support the conclusions reached by GONHS and the ESG. Malta, for example, has an annual quota of 540 tonnes and a population of approximately 560,000, equivalent to approximately 964 tonnes per million inhabitants. Gibraltar's quota of 30 tonnes, based on a population of around 39,000, equates to approximately 769 tonnes per million inhabitants – lower than that of Malta.

In fact, to put Gibraltar’s allocation into perspective, it would take Gibraltar 18 years to catch the amount of tuna allocated to Malta in a single year and more than 220 years to equal Spain’s annual allocation.

The reality is that Gibraltar’s quota increased this year because ICCAT increased its quota allocations for all European countries. The United Kingdom’s allocation, for example, increased from approximately 66 tonnes in 2025 to around 230 tonnes per year for 2026 – 2028, reflecting an increase of 248%. Gibraltar’s increase, by comparison, was in the region of 15%. 

Perhaps most significantly, the GONHS and ESG statement conveniently makes no reference to the current conservation status of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. The species is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of "Least Concern", reflecting the success of international management measures in rebuilding stocks. Simply put, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are no longer endangered, vulnerable or classified by the IUCN as being in need of protection. This reflects the success of international conservation and management measures in rebuilding bluefin tuna stocks. 

This does not mean that fishing should be unrestricted. The GTFC has consistently supported sustainable rod-and-reel fishing, appropriate catch limits and responsible management of the fishery. Our members regularly participate in tag-and-release programmes both during and outside the tuna season and work alongside students from the University of Gibraltar to support research into bluefin tuna migration.

For these reasons, it is disappointing that GONHS and the ESG have chosen to challenge Gibraltar's tuna fishery without first engaging with those directly involved. During GBC's Gibraltar Today programme on Monday, the ESG's representative acknowledged that the organisation's understanding of local tuna fishing was lacking and accepted that further engagement with local fishermen would be beneficial. One would have thought that before issuing a press release, this is what both GONHS and the ESG should have done - consulted fishermen, engaged with the GTFC and better understood fishing in Gibraltar. The admitted failure to do so demonstrates that their criticism has been made without first obtaining a balanced understanding of Gibraltar’s tuna fishery. 

The GTFC believes that meaningful discussion should be based on evidence, scientific understanding and informed dialogue. We remain willing to engage constructively with any organisation that wishes to better understand Gibraltar's sustainable tuna fishery and the framework within which it operates. Public debate on fisheries management should always be based on informed dialogue rather than misconceptions and irrelevant comparison, the sorts of which have been adopted by GONHS and the ESG.