Saving Seafood

RFMOs moving toward an increase in bluefin tuna TAC

October 21, 2021 — Regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) that regulate Pacific bluefin tuna have moved closer to adopting a catch increase, based on an improved outlook for meeting stock recovery goals.

During its 5-7 October electronic meeting, the Northern Committee (NC) of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) approved, by consensus, the recommendation of the sixth Joint IATTC and WCPFC-NC Working Group Meeting on the Management of Pacific Bluefin Tuna (JWG06).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

IATTC meeting defers decision on proposed bluefin harvest increase

September 8, 2021 — The regional fishery management organization that sets tuna harvest-limits in the Eastern Pacific Ocean once again deferred a decision on the Pacific bluefin harvest after failing to reach consensus on the details of a proposed increase.

At the 23 to 27 August meeting of the full commission of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) a proposal by the United States reflecting the recommendations of the online 27 to 29 July Sixth Joint Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Northern Committee Working Group Meeting was taken up, but the parties didn’t reach a consensus agreement on specific details in the new language. As a result, the IATTC gave itself more time to negotiate the details before another full commission meeting in October 2021.

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NGOs express disappointment after IATTC fails to advance tuna conservation measure

August 31, 2021 — A weeklong Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) meeting, held to advance the commission’s protection of bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, has failed deliver any such conservation measure.

With the IATTC unable to reach consensus, discussions on the measure roll over to its next virtual meeting, scheduled to take place on 18 October.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF: Eastern Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries can’t wait for COVID to end before action is taken

August 23, 2021 — Eastern Pacific Ocean fisheries managers must ensure that effective management measures are promptly put in place for bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks when the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) meets later this month, insists the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).

In 2020, the IATTC conducted new assessments of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, which found that while yellowfin remains healthy, there was a 53 percent probability that bigeye is overfished and a 50 percent probability that overfishing was occurring.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Technology Can Improve Safety and Security for Observers on Fishing Vessels

February 23, 2021 — The following was released by Pew Charitable Trusts:

The eastern Pacific Ocean is home to valuable tuna fisheries worth more than $5 billion each year.  These stocks are managed by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which is responsible for ensuring the sustainable management of tunas and other marine species, as well as enforcing rules to end and prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Transshipment is a key part of the seafood supply chain in which catch is transferred from a fishing vessel to a carrier vessel that then takes it to port, but management of transshipment is rife with loopholes, and IUU-caught fish can easily slip through the cracks.

For years, onboard fisheries observers have been the primary source of independent information on at-sea activity, collecting data on catch, transshipment, and more, and reporting rules violations and potential IUU activity to domestic authorities and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) such as IATTC. But serving as an onboard observer is a risky job, and the casualty rate on fishing vessels is notoriously high. Observers can be at sea for months at a time, often without quick access to medical care or assistance if they are in a threatening situation.

Last year, MRAG Americas, a fisheries-focused consultancy, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Walmart Foundation, deployed a new model of two-way satellite communications devices to several IATTC transshipment observers to improve real-time exchanges of information and, hopefully, help observers feel more secure onboard vessels.

Read the full release here

IATTC agrees to rollover tropical tuna quotas to 2021

December 22, 2020 — The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) agreed at a special session on 22 December to a rollover of its existing quotas for tropical tuna in the eastern Pacific for 2021.

The tropical tuna fishery – which includes bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks – brings in billions of dollars’ worth of fish annually. At its annual meeting earlier this month, the commission failed to reach a consensus on the management of tropical tunas by one vote – with Colombia opposing the resolution – leaving tuna fisheries without any rules of governance starting on 1 January.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF Statement: IATTC Emergency Commission Meeting

December 22, 2020 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The action by IATTC at its emergency Commission meeting held on December 22 — a meeting and decision that ISSF and its stakeholders called for earlier this month — keeps crucial “status quo” fishing effort and catch limit provisions and active FAD limits in place for 2021. This decision ensures that the valuable tuna resources and the marine ecosystems of the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) will not be unmanaged for 2021. And it gives the Commission an opportune period to develop and adopt new comprehensive tuna management measures for 2022, including science-based limits on FADs and floating objects (e.g., active numbers, sets, deployments, etc.), that fully implement scientific advice.

ISSF calls on IATTC parties to work collaboratively throughout next year to hold detailed, inclusive discussions that will lead to decisive and science-based action for the protection of EPO tuna stocks and their marine ecosystems. Regardless of meeting format in 2021, ISSF will pursue all opportunities to help guide IATTC and all tuna RFMOs, member governments, industry, vessels, FIPs and NGOs on the complex issues they must navigate for sustainable global tuna stocks and their ecosystems.

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 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

WCPFC secures consensus to continue tropical tuna measure

December 16, 2020 — The 27 members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have approved the rollover of the tropical tuna measure for bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna, which without a consensus would have expired in February 2021.

The move by the WCPFC is in contrast with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which failed to reach a consensus on regulations, leaving the fishery unmanaged beginning 1 January, 2021. The renewal by the WCPFC is considered a victory, but the Pacific Islands Forum’s Fisheries Forum Agency (FFA) said much work remains left to be tackled at next year’s tuna commission.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC calls for sustainable management of tropical tuna in Eastern Pacific

December 16, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

From 1 January there could be no restrictions for tropical tuna fishing in nearly half of the Pacific Ocean, increasing the risk of overfishing of commercially important skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tunas, the Marine Stewardship Council warns, unless all the member governments reach an agreement on how to manage these stocks in 2021.

The MSC standard requires fisheries certified to its globally recognised standard to limit their catch within sustainable limits. Robust management is one of the fundamental principles of sustainable fisheries, especially for those catching highly migratory species such as tuna, as it prevents overfishing.

However, the body responsible in international law[i] for agreeing how much tuna is safe to catch is yet to reach a consensus on important measures to restrict tuna catch in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in 2021. Scientific advice recommended to carry over the rules set for 2020 into 2021.

After the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) failed to reach an agreement at their meeting earlier this month, the Chair of IATTC has called an extraordinary meeting of the delegations on 22 December, recommending carrying over the 2020 management measures into 2021 and holding a series of further meetings in 2021 to develop the way tuna stocks are managed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

IATTC had previously agreed management measures for skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Having such measures in place even when stocks are perceived as healthy enables fisheries to act quickly when needed.

With increased demand for tuna globally comes increased pressure on tuna stocks and associated ecosystems. At present 17.5 % of the world’s tuna fisheries are overfished.

The Marine Stewardship Council’s Chief Science and Standards Officer, Dr Rohan Currey, said:

“We welcome IATTC’s decision to convene an extraordinary meeting, reflecting the critical importance of maintaining the conservation measures for tropical tuna stocks.  The nations involved must find a way to reach a consensus that will protect the future health of these economically important stocks, that reflects scientific advice and is grounded in a robust long-term management plan.

“Nations have a duty to come together to manage fisheries and their impact on the oceans. If the IATTC cannot agree on how to manage this tropical tuna fishery, it will have effectively abandoned this duty, putting the future of the stocks at risk. We join with others in expressing deep concern about this and urge the delegates to reach a speedy decision on this at their extraordinary meeting on 22 December.”

ISSF: IATTC Fails to Preserve Tuna Conservation and FAD Measures at Annual Meeting

December 8, 2020 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The following release was updated on December 9, 2020 to reflect changes made by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Last month, ISSF and its partners appealed to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to, at a minimum, act to ensure its current measures on tuna conservation and management do not lapse and stay in place for 2021. ISSF outlined its science-based recommendations to IATTC in our position statement.

Unfortunately, IATTC ended its Nov. 30–Dec. 4 virtual Commission meeting without keeping crucial “status quo” measures in place:

Despite the clear scientific advice to, at a minimum, keep these provisions intact, the objection of one party blocked their extension. As a result, the sustainability of the region’s tropical tuna fisheries and marine ecosystems is now at risk.

IATTC’s inaction is a breakdown of its responsibility to ensure the long-term sustainable use of Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) tuna resources. In response to the Commission’s flagrant failings, ISSF urges all IATTC parties to exercise restraint and take the precautionary approach by voluntarily continuing to apply the previously in-effect provisions throughout 2021. Doing so will help keep fishing mortality at a level consistent with IATTC objectives.

ISSF calls upon IATTC to urgently organize an emergency session of the Commission early in 2021 to put in place binding conservation measures that will apply immediately.

We recognize that pandemic lockdowns and travel limitations have made substantive discussions and consensus-building especially difficult this year. But RFMOs and national governments will remain in this situation for the foreseeable future — and they need to adapt, as other organizations worldwide have, to the new reality. The virtual meeting format does not prevent or excuse them from ensuring detailed, inclusive discussions and taking decisive action to protect global tuna stocks and their marine ecosystems.