11 bluefin tuna seized in a fishing vessel in Tarifa (Cádiz)
The fishing vessel "Nuevo Bamby" has been immobilized in port as a precautionary measure
On the afternoon of September 15, 11 bluefin tuna were seized, after a surprise inspection of the Nuevo Bamby fishing vessel while it entered the port of Tarifa (Cádiz), in a joint action between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Civil Guard and the Sub-delegation of the Government in Cádiz.
The maritime service of the Civil Guard proceeded to inspect the fishing vessel and detected 11 bluefin tuna that the New Bamby had towed under the sea. The special group of underwater activities recovered the tunas that the fishing crew had anchored in the mouth of the aforementioned port, upon realizing that they were going to be approached by the fishing inspection service in Cádiz.
The recovered tunas were taken to the dock for confiscation and subsequent delivery to the Algeciras Food Bank.
The operation that culminated successfully yesterday is the result of a previous work by the fisheries inspection services, which detected that some fisheries, despite having a quota for this species, declared daily catches below a normal fishing activity, in comparison with other ships of the same fleet.
In parallel, it was found that illegal unloadings were taking place inside the port, culminating in one of these surveillance with the intervention, last August, of a van with 15 illegally caught bluefin tuna, without having passed through the fish market and without the required documentation.
Suspecting that one of the main responsible for said illegal fishing was the aforementioned fishing vessel, a monitoring and surveillance device was established that culminated yesterday with the inspection at sea and intervention of the 11 bluefin tunas that in total gave a weight of 392 kilograms.
Given the seriousness of the infractions detected, and in the general interest, the Nuevo Bamby fishing vessel will be immobilized as a precautionary measure, while the investigations continue and proceed, if necessary, to set a bond, in order to guarantee the good end of the open administrative procedure.
