An international conservation group has set the 2017 catch quota of bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean at 2,000 tons, unchanged from the current level, Japan's Fisheries Agency said Tuesday.
Japan's current allocation of about 346 tons will be maintained under the decision made at the annual weeklong meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) that concluded Monday in Portugal.
Bluefin tuna was once feared in danger of extinction in the western Atlantic Ocean due to overfishing but its population has gradually recovered thanks to strict restrictions on its fishing by the ICCAT.
In the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the 2017 quota was set at 23,155 tons, of which about 1,931 tons will go to Japan, in line with an agreement in 2014 that raised the limit from the current 19,296 tons and around 1,608 tons for Japan.