Group to decide if illegal tuna fishing occurred during Libya conflict-BBC

.
11/6/11, "Tuna fished 'illegally' during Libya conflict," BBC, Richard Black

"Evidence is emerging of unregulated and probably illegal tuna fishing in Libyan waters during this year's conflict.

Signals recorded from boats' electronic "black boxes" show a large presence inside Libyan waters, a major spawning ground for the endangered bluefin tuna.

Several strands of evidence, including a letter from a former industry source,

• suggest the involvement of EU boats.

The issue will be aired this week at the annual meeting of Iccat,

• which regulates tuna fishing in the region.

The European Commission believes any fishing in Libyan waters this year could be judged illegal.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki told BBC News that she is also investigating whether Italian authorities made bilateral deals with Libya on tuna-fishing,

• which would contravene EU regulations.

The annual meeting of Iccat - the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas - opens in Istanbul on Friday, preceded by two days of talks within its Compliance Committee,

• which will begin to assess whether rules have been broken."...

.