Reply #26: Libya conflict maroons French tuna fleet

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Libya conflict maroons French tuna fleet
Thu May 12, 2011 11:00am GMT

TOULOUSE, France May 12 (Reuters Life!) - 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 cancelled.

"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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ICCAT member Libya had been due for a quota of 902 tonnes of bluefin tuna -- much of it to be fished from the 10 boats now blocked at Sete -- out of a total of 12,900 tonnes for the 2011 season, which starts on May 15.

more tuna...
http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74B0UH20110512

This is a follow-up to a story posted here yesterday.
Libya: Green groups sound alarm over tuna stocks
(AFP) – 1 day ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdfWLd8JnBHvb3DoeBfOtg473UHw?docId=CNG.c09176f483e4d0dbb454a97d8875714a.a1

In the interests of Reuters headline accuracy, I'd like to point out that the French tuna fleet is not marooned. Ships registered to Libya, even if operated out of a French port, have lost their fishing permits. It's not as exciting as being marooned, but hey, that's the way it is.