December 8, 2020 โ The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) has failed to reach a consensus on the management of tropical tunas by one vote โ with Colombia opposing the resolution โ leaving tuna fisheries without any rules starting on 1 January.
The tropical tuna fishery โ which includes bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks โ includes billions of dollars of catch. With the failure to reach a consensus โ the first time in the IATTCโs history โ the fishery is left without any form of management, including quotas, gear types, and more. While individual countries can choose to implement regulations matching the proposed IATTC resolution, region-wide rules will end.