Saving Seafood

ISSF: WCPFC December meeting is chance to review tuna measures

November 30, 2018 โ€” All of the tuna stocks under the oversight of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), except for Pacific bluefin, are at โ€œgreenโ€ or healthy levels, the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation (ISSF) reports.

However, the WCPFC meeting scheduled for Dec. 9-14, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a chance to review supporting measures proposed by ISSF and also the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to better preserve tropical tuna species, suggest Claire van der Geest, an ISSF strategy policy advisor, and Bubba Cook, the WWFโ€™s western and central Pacific Ocean tuna program manager, in a blog posted this week by ISSF.

Those include strengthening the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by using non-entangling designs and also improving the management of at-sea transshipment practices to reduce Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities as well as bad labor practices.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

U.S. Proposes Rebuilding Plan for Pacific Bluefin Tuna

June 24, 2016 โ€” The United States is proposing to extend catch limits on Pacific bluefin tuna in the eastern Pacific for another two years, as scientists have recommended, at the upcoming Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) meeting. The United States is also proposing a long-term framework for rebuilding the overfished species that spans the Pacific and many international boundaries.

The proposal for consideration at the upcoming meeting at the end of June represents the latest step by the United States to manage fishing impacts on Pacific bluefin so the species can recover from its current low levels.

A May 2016 stock assessment conducted by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean (ISC) found that Pacific bluefin spawning stock in 2014 amounted to just 2.6 percent of what it would be without fishing. The ISC is expected to finalize the stock assessment at its upcoming July meeting.

Read the full story at the Fishing Wire

Pew Wants Global Trade Ban on Pacific Bluefin After IATTC Fails to Agree on Conservation

SEAFOODNEWS.COM โ€” July 6, 2015 โ€” The Pew Charitable Trusts wants global fishery authorities to explore the possibility of banning the international trade for Pacific bluefin tuna after no additional conservation measures for the fishery were agreed to during the 89th meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) that took place between June 22 and July 3 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

According to Pew the Pacific bluefin tuna population remains in a severely depleted state: It is overfished, and overfishing continues on a stock that is at 4 percent of its unfished levels. The Group has repeatedly called for IATTC to develop and mandate the use of a cost-effective tool to combat IUU fishing among member the countries. However, no progress was made on gaining consensus during the meeting.

โ€œThe failure the IATTC to agree to reduce catch limits or adopt a long-term rebuilding plan for Pacific bluefin tuna leaves the species at risk of population collapse,โ€ said Amanda Nickson, director of global tuna conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts. โ€œIt is high time to look at the prohibition of international trade through the Convention on International Trades in Endangered Species [CITES] as a means to protect this highly depleted species.โ€

There were a few regulatory measures agreed to during the meeting that Pew did support.

Mexico announced it will reduce its catch of Pacific bluefin by 250 metric tons next year, which would bring the overall harvest closer to scientifically recommended levels according to Pew. Other countries could also choose to act outside of the Commission process and implement additional conservation measures.

IATTC members reached consensus on a proposal to protect mobulid rays, which are vulnerable to overfishing. The measure prohibits the retention of rays caught incidentally โ€“ with exemptions for some artisanal vessels โ€“ and outlines a range of techniques that help fishers with live release.

โ€œThis is a good week for mobulid rays in the eastern Pacific,โ€ Nickson said. โ€œOverfishing is a major threat to the survival of these important populations and the measure that is now in place will increase the opportunity for rays to survive getting caught up in fishing gear.โ€

Meanwhile, IATTC members had been discussing proposals on a regional standard for port State measures since 2010 but have not reached an agreement. Port State measures are a highly efficient and cost-effective tool to ensure transparency in the sector and dis-incentivize illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

โ€œRight now the government agency responsible at any given port has no international obligation to inspect a vessel known to have engaged in nefarious activities. This is a major loophole and it has been left wide open for too long. While individual nations can take action, only regional cooperation will bring about measurable change,โ€ Nickson said.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.