ALGIERS-National fisheries inspectors, who took part in the international inspection operation for the 2024 bluefin tuna fishing season, a first mission of its kind for Algeria, were honored on Tuesday in Algiers, upon their arrival aboard the scientific vessel "Grine Belkacem", used to carry out this mission. 

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Fishing and Fisheries, Mohamed Bengrina congratulated the four inspectors on “their professionalism and abnegation” throughout their mission, which started on 10 June.

Algeria has embarked on “a new stage by participating for the first time in a joint international inspection operation for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and has won a team of experienced and professional inspectors.”

In a statement to APS, the principal inspector and coordinator of the joint international inspection operation for bluefin tuna, Hamza Melikchi said that an Algerian team of inspectors had carried out inspections and interventions south-west of Malta aboard national and foreign-flagged vessels.

The operation aimed to control the technical aspect of tuna fishing and the compliance of the vessels and equipment used with the standards required by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), he continued.

The team of inspectors received several trainings in Algeria and abroad, and accumulated years of experience in the field before being accredited by ICCAT, affirmed Melikchi.

For his part, the central director at the Ministry of Fishing and Fishery Production in charge of fishing and aquaculture activities said that the Algerian inspectors had controlled 13 Algerian vessels and others from France, Italy and Turkey.

The same team observed 23 other vessels and documented their activity.