SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — November 25, 2014 — It is fair to say that within the global tuna complex, bluefin and bigeye tuna are facing the biggest challenges of overfishing and depletion.
On Bluefin, a number of positive steps have been taken in both the Atlantic and South Pacific, so that in the Atlantic stocks are now rebuilding, and in the South Pacific, Japan has taken an important market leadership role in limiting harvests of juvenile bluefin.
Unfortunately, it seems the same successess are eluding managers of Bigeye tuna. The largest fishery is under the jurisdiction of the Western and Central Pacific Fishereis Commission.
The WWF, a partner with ISSF, says "The current situation with bigeye indicates other failings at WCFPC that are forcing many in the market, the public and other stakeholders to ask, If WCPFC can’t get bigeye right when the science is so clear on needing to reduce catches, how can we trust that the rest of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna fishery can be well managed?"
The ISSF, (International Tuna Sustainability Foundation) says that the stock is now below the limit reference set by the WCPFC, and overfishing is occuring. Fishing mortality has to be reduced by 36% in order to end overfishing. Since 2009, measures have not been effective, says ISSF. Limited FAD closures and other rules have so many loopholes they have been ineffective.
The ISSF is urging a simple control scheme of one or two full seasonal closures to limit fishing effort. Further, the group is pushing the WCPFC to formally adopt a harvest strategy to keep the stock within the adopted reference limits.
FADS are at the center of much of the controversy over Bigeye tuna, as they tend to attract juveniles, and as a result lead to a high juvenile fishing mortality. FADS are used in about 50% of the skipjack fisheries.
The ISSF is urging the commission to take further steps to control FAD use, first by documenting FAD's seens by observers, and calculating the number of FAD's being used and the types of FADs.
FADs – fish aggregating devices account for 40% of global tuna catches, and ISSF research has shown that the design of the FAD can have a very large impact on the amount of bycatch.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.