TOULOUSE, France, May 12, 2011 (Reuters) — Nearly half the fisherman in France's main port for bluefin tuna fishing will be grounded for the 2011 season after the unrest in Libya caused fishing permits to be axed for their Libyan-owned boats.
Ten of the tuna ships operating in the Mediterranean port of Sete, some 185 km (115 miles) from the city of Toulouse, will be stuck because they are owned by Libyan companies with links to Muammar Gaddafi, who rebels are battling to overthrow.
The conflict led to a delay in Libya confirming its 2011 Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing quota with the Madrid-based International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which decided quotas late last year and awarded permits in mid-April. Libya's quota was canceled.
"Because of the war in Libya, around a hundred fisherman from Sete will not go out to sea this year. That's a hundred families on the breadline," said Raphael Scannapieco, owner of five tuna ships, three of which are registered in Libya.
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http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre74b2i6-us-france-fishermen/Given the endangered status of the Tuna population I can't say I am unhappy with this...
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