Saving Seafood

ABTA: ICCAT Meeting Ends After ‘Spectacular Failure’ to Protect Bigeye Tuna

November 27, 2018 — NORWELL, Mass. — The following was released by the American Bluefin Tuna Association:

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) concluded its annual plenary meeting on November 19 after a spectacular failure to arrive to a comprehensive agreement on badly needed management measures to address the present poor state of Atlantic bigeye tuna stock. Bigeye tuna is highly coveted by sashimi markets worldwide, similar to bluefin tuna.

ICCAT’s eight-day meeting, held this year in Dubrovnik, Croatia, was attended by over 700 people representing 52 countries.

In October, the Standing Committee for Research and Statistics (SCRS), the scientific arm of ICCAT, issued a new stock assessment on Atlantic bigeye tuna which stated that the stock is significantly overfished, with overfishing taking place.   An approximate 40% cut in overall Atlantic-wide allowed catch would be required to end overfishing. Discussion and “heated” negotiations regarding new management measures aimed at addressing the dire status of this important fish stock dominated the 8-day meeting. However, when the meeting drew to a close, the Commission had failed to agree upon any measures to address the numerous problems in the Atlantic bigeye tuna fishery.

The U.S., Canada, South Africa and a handful of other nations strongly advocated for the adoption of measures that would end overfishing immediately and rebuild the stock within 10 years. However, a strategy aimed directly at achieving quantifiable reductions of catch of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the West Africa purse seine skipjack fishery, although strongly urged by ICCAT scientists and considered key to the recovery of Atlantic bigeye stock, was notably absent from the various conservation measures proposed.

Thus, the failure by ICCAT to come to an agreement on a conservation and management plan for Atlantic bigeye will result in the further erosion of the stock’s status until ICCAT succeeds in taking decisive action on this critical issue. This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the U.S. East Coast commercial handgear, pelagic longline and recreational fishermen that catch bigeye tuna. The next opportunity to achieve these goals will be at the annual ICCAT meeting in 2019.

Numerous issues unrelated to bigeye tuna were taken up during this meeting with mixed results. A 47-page recommendation drafted by the European Union establishing a multi-annual management plan for East Atlantic-Mediterranean bluefin tuna, first tendered at the plenary meeting in 2017, was finally concluded at the current meeting.

The U.S. succeeded in obtaining consensus on its proposal to address ICCAT’s Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) protocols that will result in a badly-needed increase in VMS polling time for purse seine from four to a one-hour intervals. Also, under the same proposal, longline vessels are now required to transmit VMS data at two-hour intervals.   The U.S., the EU, Norway and Senegal proposed new port state measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and this succeeded in obtaining support from the Commission.

The U.S. attempted to establish conservation measures for overfished blue and white marlin stocks but failed to obtain the needed support from ICCAT countries. Similarly, the U.S., Panama, Cape Verde, Nicaragua and Guatemala proposed measures to reduce bycatch of sea turtles in longline fisheries, but this too did not obtain a consensus.

ISSF expands reach across longline tuna sector

November 21, 2018 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has announced the adoption of two new conservation measures “to facilitate continuous improvement across global tuna fisheries”.

ISSF also amended two of its existing conservation measures. Adoption of the new measures back the expansion of its efforts to the longline fishing sector, doubling the number of measures that apply to longline vessels specifically, the first of which were adopted in April 2017.

All ISSF conservation measures directly affect how nearly 30 global seafood companies environmentally manage their respective tuna supply chains, it said.

“Our work at ISSF is ever evolving. We regularly review ISSF conservation measures to update existing standards or to create new commitments in line with the latest fisheries research or to address conservation needs,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “With about 75% of the world’s canned tuna processing capacity conforming to dozens of ISSF measures for sustainability best practices — and with major tuna companies being transparently audited against these measures — we are driving unique and positive change across the world’s tuna fisheries.”

The ISSF ProActive Vessel Register (PVR) is a public internet database that tracks detailed vessel information and how vessels are following science-based practices that support sustainable tuna fisheries. MRAG Americas, a third party, independent auditor, audits vessels that join the PVR with respect to these practices; vessels that join the PVR commit to provide regular, accurate information about those activities. Because the PVR brings transparency to the tuna supply chain, ISSF has worked to increase the number of fishing vessels on the Register lists — from less than 200 vessels in 2012, the year it was launched, to more than 1,000 as of Oct. 31, 2018.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

ICCAT keeps bigeye catch limit, to conservationists’ dismay

November 20, 2018 — Conservationists left Croatia on Monday, 19 November, expressing disappointment that the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas did not pass any measure to protect the stock of bigeye tuna.

Instead, commission members ended their meeting in Croatia’s capital of Dubrovnik maintaining the status quo; a catch limit of 65,000 metric tons for the 2019 season, despite an ICCAT scientific committee reporting that the Atlantic bigeye is severely overfished.

Grantly Galland, a global tuna conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts, said it was a difficult eight days.

“Everyone is to blame for this one,” he told SeafoodSource. “Each individual member is more concerned about its own priorities than finding consensus on a real recovery plan.”

The current biomass is currently at 20 percent of its historical peak, Galland said. In order to generate the maximum sustainable yield, the biomass needs to be at least at 59 percent.

Because of the inaction, Galland fears the bigeye tuna issue will only get exponentially worse. Pew said the current catch rate means the stock is 60 times more likely to collapse instead of rebuild in the next 15 years.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

ICCAT: BIGEYE IN THE CROSS-HAIRS

November 12, 2018 — Fisheries representatives and environmental activists from around the globe will convene through November 19 for the 21st Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

An international treaty organization, ICCAT is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and tuna-like pelagic species (tuna, marlin, sharks, swordfish, etc.) found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Of all the discussion, debate and deliberation this week by the participating ICCAT nations, bigeye tuna decisions will have the biggest impact on Northeast canyon fishermen next season.

Based on a recent ICCAT scientific report, bigeye tuna is currently considered overfished and subject to overfishing. The major issue however is that the current international harvest cap of 65,000 tons set by ICCAT has been exceeded by approximately 20 thousand tons.

Read the full story at The Fisherman

ISSF to ICCAT: Rebuild Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna Stocks; Improve FAD Data Reporting; and Strengthen Monitoring, Control and Surveillance

November 6, 2018 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its position statement in advance of the 21st Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 12-19 November 2018.

“The 2018 assessment of bigeye tuna shows that the stock is overfished and subject to overfishing, and yellowfin may also be subject to overfishing. ICCAT must take urgent action,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson.

“This time last year, ICCAT scientists were reporting that the established catch limits for bigeye and yellowfin had been exceeded in 2016 by 11% and 16%, respectively. Fast-forward to today and the bigeye catch limit has been exceeded by 20 percent, and yellowfin catch limit by 17 to 37 percent. The management of these valuable tuna stocks is getting worse, not better. More should have been done last year, and the upcoming meeting in Dubrovnik offers another chance to get it right.”

ISSF is asking ICCAT to adopt stock-specific management measures in line with the advice of the ICCAT scientific committee, which includes: appropriate and fully-allocated catch levels so that ICCAT member countries can know their individual limits; capacity limits that are commensurate with these allocations; and provisions to ensure catches are in compliance with the limits. ICCAT must also consider alternative means to reduce the mortality of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the purse seine fishery—measures like strengthened FAD management, limitations on the use of supply and support vessels, and expanded time/area closures and effort controls.

Read the full release here

Western Pacific Council Makes Recommendations to Keep US Pacific Island Fisheries Viable

October 26, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its two-day meeting in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) this week with recommendations regarding pelagic, international and American Samoa fisheries.

Council discussion centered around keeping healthy, sustainable U.S. Pacific Island fisheries viable amid an accumulation of U.S. regulations and international negotiations.

Billfish Conservation Act and Bigeye Tuna

The Council expressed dismay over the recent amendment to the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012, which bans the interstate commerce of billfish (excluding swordfish) landed by U.S. fishermen in Hawaii and the US Pacific Islands. The billfish stocks caught by Hawaii and U.S. Pacific Island fisheries are healthy, unlike the billfish in the Atlantic, the Western Pacific Council said in a press release.

The bill to amend the Act was introduced and promoted by Congressional delegates and sports fishing organizations from Florida. Recent guidelines from the National Marine Fisheries Service say the billfish landed in the US Territories and Hawaii are also prohibited from being sold in foreign markets. The Council directed staff to develop a list of questions and issues associated with amendment compliance and send them to NMFS for a response.

The Hawaii deep-set longline fishery catches billfish incidentally when targeting bigeye tuna. The amount of bigeye in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) the fishery may retain annually is developed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), an international regional fishery management organization to which the U.S. is a party.

The Council endorsed recent WCPFC’s Permanent Advisory Committee to advise the U.S. commissioners (PAC) majority recommendation to obtain a longline bigeye quota of 6,000 metric tons (mt) at the upcoming WCPFC meeting in December in Honolulu. This amount is slightly less than the amount of bigeye caught in the WCPO in 2016 by Hawaii longline vessels, including those vessels operating under agreements with U.S. Participating Territories. The Council said it will communicate this recommendation to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The Hawaii longline fleet is the sole fishery that utilizes the U.S. quota, which is currently set at 3,554 mt.

South Pacific Albacore

The Council also endorsed the PAC recommendation that the U.S. position generally be in support of adopting a South Pacific albacore target reference point. The reference point is a catch target that supports economically viable operations and healthy stock biomass. The American Samoa longline fishery, which harvests this stock, has been in decline since 2011. The Council asked NMFS to provide economic evaluations of the fleet’s performance at various target reference points in advance of WCPFC15.

Hawaii Longline Fishery

Among other pelagic and international fishery matters, the Council recommended initial action be taken that would require electronic reporting in the Hawaii longline fishery. The Council will ask NMFS to continue to develop electronic reporting in the Hawaii longline fishery and to work with Hawaii longline participants and Council staff to address several implementation issues and report back to the Council at its March 2019 meeting.

The Council intended to take action regarding the management of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles in the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery, which targets swordfish. However, action was postponed as a draft biological opinion due from NMFS on Oct. 1 has not been completed. The Council will reconvene its Scientific and Statistical Committee Working Group when the draft opinion is available. The Council may convene an interim Council meeting, if needed, to review the draft opinion and consider revisions to its June 2018 recommendations, including a possible specification of individual trip limits for leatherback sea turtle interactions.

American Samoa Fisheries

Regarding American Samoa fisheries, the Council recommended an annual catch limit (ACL) of 106,000 pounds for the American Samoa bottomfish species complex for fishing year 2019. The Council noted the next benchmark assessment, which is scheduled for review in February 2019, will provide new information to set the ACLs for fishing years 2020 to 2022. The Council also directed its staff to work with the Council’s American Samoa Advisory Panel to develop a plan for outreach and education, preferably in cooperation with Territory’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, to educate communities on various fisheries and fisheries-related issues.

The Council will reconvene at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Hilton at Tumon, Guam.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Fisheries nations to decide fate of declining bigeye tuna

October 1, 2018 — PARIS — Dozens of nations with commercial fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean will grapple next week with a new finding that bigeye tuna, the backbone of a billion dollar business, is severely depleted and overfished.

Unless catch levels are sharply reduced, scientists warned, stocks of the fatty, fast-swimming predator could crash within a decade or two.

Less iconic than Atlantic bluefin but more valuable as an industry, bigeye (Thunnus obesus) — one of several so-called tropical tunas — is prized for sashimi in Japan and canned for supermarket sales worldwide. It is not farmed.

An internal report by 40-odd scientists working under the inter-governmental International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), finalized last week, shows that populations have fallen to less than 20 percent of their historic levels.

Even more critical, the stock is barely half the size needed to support a “maximum sustainable yield” — the largest catch that can be taken without compromising long-term stability of the species.

Current harvests, overwhelmingly legal, are also more than 60 percent above levels that would give bigeye at least a fighting chance of recovering its numbers, the report said.

Read the full story at Yahoo

ICCAT committee finds bigeye tuna overfished

July 31, 2018 — Members of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas met in Bilbao, Spain last week, and the bigeye tuna assessment was a key topic of discussion.

Dr. David Die, chairman of the commission’s Standing Committee Research and Statistics, presented a report to officials from the 18 member nations who attended the intersessional meeting from 23 to 25 July. The report indicated that the total allowable catch for bigeye was exceeded by 23 percent in 2016, and projections estimated 76,982 tons were caught in 2017.

If that holds true, and the committee looks to finalize the report in October, then the stock was overfished by 18 percent last year.

Die told members that the assessment shows the bigeye stock is overfished and subject to overfishing. According to an ICCAT meeting summary, the committee has great confidence in the modeling used to make the assessment because it had more data available than previous assessments and was able to account the size selectivity of member fleets.

The assessment also noted that while longline and baitboat fisheries saw reductions in their bigeye catches, fisheries using other gears saw increases.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

ISSF Releases Interactive “Status of the Stocks Tool”

April 5, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has developed a new data-visualization tool based on its long-running and widely followed Status of the Stocks report. The “Status of the Stocks Tool” is located on the ISSF website and accessible through the Status of the Stocks overview page; users can easily toggle through tuna stock health indicators and filter by location, species and other key stock health and catch factors.

The tool, which requires no additional applications or access to use, offers fisheries managers, fishers, RFMOs, scientists, and other stakeholders a convenient and intuitive resource for visualizing the state of tuna stocks worldwide, covering 23 tuna stocks — including ones that have been or are overfished, as well as those at healthy levels. Offering the most current data available, it also pulls information from previous years of ISSF Status of the Stocks reports, which compile key stock health and catch data from the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).

“As part of our ongoing efforts to bring improved technology into understanding fisheries management, we developed this resource to offer a clearer picture of trends in global tuna stock health over time,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Not only does a data visualization tool such as this allow users a customized look at the tuna stocks they are most interested in, it also offers a meaningful understanding of the impact of changes in RFMO management on those tuna stocks over time.”

For example, the number of stocks well-managed in terms of fishing mortality has increased from 8 (35%) in 2012 to 15 (65%) in 2018, demonstrating the improvement of management measures put in place by the RFMOs. Improved management measures lead to stock rebuilding, as in the case of bluefin tuna stocks, where 100% of the catch came from overfished stocks in 2013, versus just 26.5% of the catch in 2018. The tool can also be used to monitor those stocks for which management has been effective and, therefore, resulted in maintained healthy levels of abundance over time (e.g., skipjack stocks).

The tool was developed by ISSF’s science and communications teams and was reviewed by the scientists on the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee.

Interactive Tool Design

The tool, built using Tableau technology, features two tabs — one for visualizing tuna stock health trends since 2011, and another for visualizing the recent tuna catch by fishing method.

Users can generate a variety of customized and exportable graphics within the tool based on the parameters they choose in the checkboxes (such as “ocean location”) or buttons. By hovering or clicking on the graphics, users can see percentages and other details.

On the Stock Health tab, data can be filtered first by tuna species and ocean region. The user can choose between visualizing data relative to total catch or to number of stocks, and between ratings on stock abundance or on fishing mortality. As a result, the corresponding area graph is generated. Like the Status of the Stocks reports, the tool uses a color rating system: green (“healthy”), yellow (“intermediate”), and orange (“needs improvement”).

The Catch tab currently features data from 2016, the most recent year for which complete catch data are available. Gear type data can be filtered by ocean location to generate a bar chart.

ISSF’s “Status of the Stocks Tool” will be updated as new iterations of the Status of the Stocks Reportare released. To access the most recent Status of the Stocks report in full, click here.

About the ISSF Status of the Stocks Report

There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide – 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. This report ranks the status and management of the 23 stocks using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF also produces a complementary report, the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria (MSC) which provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) inStatus of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report.

Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention. Access the newly updated ISSF stock status ratings here.

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — the world’s leading conservation organization — promoting science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health. Helping global tuna fisheries meet sustainability criteria to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council certification standard — without conditions — is ISSF’s ultimate objective. To learn more, visit iss-foundation.org, and follow ISSF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram(@issf.official).

 

State of Tuna Stocks Worldwide Assessed in Comprehensive ISSF Report

Global tuna catch stays at 78% healthy level

March 8, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Of the total tuna catch in 2016, 78% came from stocks at “healthy” levels, unchanged since last reported, according to a February 2018 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report. Skipjack tuna stocks — at healthy levels in all ocean regions — constituted more than one-half of the 2016 total catch.

One notable change in stock status in the February 2018 Status report is for Southern bluefin tuna, a stock that has moved from orange to yellow in abundance ratings. Stock abundance is low, about 13% of the unfished level. However, the stock is rebuilding continuously as a result of the implementation of a robust Management Procedure (a Harvest Strategy) by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the regional organization in charge of managing the stock. In contrast, the Pacific bluefin stock, along with the Indian Ocean yellowfin stock and the Atlantic Ocean bigeye stock remain overfished. See Tables 1 and 2 in the report for specific rating changes.

There were no dramatic changes in tuna stock status since the previous November 2017 Status report; the updated report reflects new data made available at late 2017 tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) meetings.

Updated several times per year, Status of the Stocks assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) on stock heath, stock management, and ecosystem impact. The report ranks the 23 stocks of major commercial tunas around the world using a consistent methodology.

Key Statistics in the Report

  • Total catch: In 2016, the total major commercial tuna catch was 4.9 million tonnes, a 2% increase from 2015. More than half of the total catch (57%) was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (30%), bigeye (8%) and albacore (4%). Bluefin tunas (3 species) accounted for only 1% of the global catch. These percentages changed only slightly from the Nov. 2017 reporting period. 
  • Abundance or “spawning biomass” levels: Globally, 57% of the 23 stocks are at a healthy level of abundance, 13% are overfished, and 30% are at an intermediate level.
  • Stocks receiving orange scores, indicating overfished status, include Atlantic Ocean bigeye, Pacific Ocean bluefin and Indian Ocean yellowfin.
  • Fishing mortality levels: 65% of the 23 stocks are experiencing a well-managed fishing mortality rate, and 13% are experiencing overfishing (with no change from the previous report).
  • Largest catches by stock: The three largest catches in tonnes are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, and Indian Ocean skipjack.
  • Tuna production by ocean region: Most (53%) of the world’s tuna is harvested from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, followed by the Indian Ocean (20%), Eastern Pacific Ocean (13%), and Atlantic Ocean (10%).
  • Tuna production by fishing gear: 65% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (12%), pole-and-line (8%), gillnets (3%) and miscellaneous gears (12%). These percentages changed only slightly from the Nov. 2017 reporting period.

About the Report

There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide – 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. This report ranks the status and management of the 23 stocks using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF produces two reports annually that seek to provide clarity about where we stand — and how much more needs to be done — to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks: the Status of the Stocks provides a comprehensive analysis of tuna stocks by species, and the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria (MSC) provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) in Status of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report.

Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention. Access the newly updated ISSF stock status ratings here.