September 9, 2019 — The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Northern Committee met in Portland, Oregon, last week to discuss two proposals to increase catch limits on Pacific bluefin. Despite continued overfishing of the depleted species, the Committee recommended changes to the Pacific bluefin management measure that will lead to an increase in catch for 2020. However, The Northern Committee will need to reconvene at the WCPFC annual meeting in December to officially adopt the outcomes of this meeting, as the meeting failed to reach the required quorum due to the absence of four members.
The Northern Committee recommended that next year, Chinese Taipei be allowed to transfer 300mt of their adult catch limit to Japan. All countries will also be able to roll over up to 17 percent of their 2019 quota to be used to increase their catch of both adult and juvenile fish in 2020. This means that Japan will be able to catch hundreds of tons of additional fish in 2020 from a stock that is at just 3.3 percent of its unfished size and is just two years into a 17-year rebuilding plan.