Indian Ocean states say EU pushing weakest conservation efforts for yellowfin tuna while EU ‘distant fleet’ hoovers up the most fish

The EU has been accused of “hypocrisy and neocolonialism” for proposing insufficient measures to tackle overfishing of yellowfin tuna, while being the largest fisher of the prized species in the Indian Ocean.

Smaller than its Atlantic and Pacific bluefin cousins, the yellowfin tuna is one of the ocean’s fastest and strongest predators. Also called ahi tuna, this species is massively overfished in the Indian Ocean – so much so that supermarkets and brands including Tesco, Co-op and Princes recently took the surprising step of joining scientists and environmental groups to call for tough action to rebuild the $4bn population.