January 28, 2021 — The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has approved a rollover of 2020’s total allowable catch (TAC) for western Atlantic bluefin tuna.
In response, non-governmental organizations including The Pew Charitable Trusts have warned the move will likely lead to overfishing of the stock.
December 14, 2020 — As winter weather sets in, the season for Atlantic bluefin tuna has arrived along the North Carolina coast, and the early season has been good so far for at least two Carteret County charter businesses.
Bluefin tuna are a commercially valuable and highly sought-after fish, with individual fish selling for thousands of dollars on the international market. The fish are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in two stocks, the eastern stock and the western stock, though the two often intermingle. In the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the baseline annual quota for bluefin tuna is 1,247.86 metric tons; this quota is further divided into sub quotas based on types of gear. The general category, which covers commercial handgear, has a sub quota of 555.7 metric tons.
Bluefin tuna traditionally show up on the North Carolina coast in December through early winter, and according Fish Whistle Fishing Charters of Morehead City’s Capt. Mike Ajamian, as of Tuesday he’s caught four.
November 19, 2020 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has published its position statements in advance of three regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) meetings this fall: the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Annual Meeting, which is being conducted by correspondence; the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) 95th Meeting, to be held virtually November 30-December 4; and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) 17th Regular Session, to be held virtually December 8-15.
The impacts of COVID-19 have challenged RFMOs in conducting their meetings in 2020. All tuna RFMOs have had to cancel or postpone some in-person meetings and hold others virtually or by other means.
“Despite the limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, ISSF believes that RFMOs have a duty to continue making progress on the long-term sustainable use of tuna stocks,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “RFMOs have come a long way in recent years — on the adoption of measures for FAD management, harvest control rules, stronger vessel monitoring systems, and increased observer coverage and standards for electronic monitoring or reporting— but still have a long way to go. There are significant challenges brought about by this pandemic, both in terms of decision-making and monitoring, but they are not insurmountable, and we believe progress can and must be made to ensure the sustainable management of global tuna stocks and marine ecosystems.”
Priority positions for each of these three RFMOs are outlined below.
ISSF Recommended Priorities for ICCAT (Meeting By Correspondence)
ISSF Recommended Priorities for IATTC (Meeting November 30-December 4)
ISSF Recommended Priorities for WCPFC (Meeting December 8-15)
Read the full IATTC, ICCAT and WCPFC Position Statements on the ISSF website. The IATTC and ICCAT Position Statements are also available in translation.
ISSF Global Priorities for Tuna RFMOs
ISSF is committed to advocating for science-based approaches, policies and conservation measures to advance tuna fisheries sustainability. Here are ISSF’s Global Priorities for four Tuna RFMOs — the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC):
About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF)
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.
August 21, 2020 — The following was released by The White House:
Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:
Andrew J. Lawler, of California, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
Andrew J. Lawler is a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He serves concurrently as Alternate Federal Commissioner to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Mr. Lawler was the editor and publisher of numerous publications focused on general business topics, international trade, fishing, and ranching. He received his B.A. from the University of Southern California.
June 18, 2020 — This year’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) annual meeting, as well as the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) plenary meeting, have been canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a letter from the organization’s commission chairman, Raul Delgado.
The SCRS meeting was to be held from September to October, and the annual meeting was to be held in November.
November 29, 2019 — At its annual meeting earlier this week, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas took steps to reduce fishing effort for bigeye tuna.
The regional fisheries management organization lowered the total allowable catch for bigeye tuna in 2020 and 2021 from 62,500 metric tons (MT) to 61,500 MT, and reduced the allowed maximum number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) from 500 to 350 in 2020 and to 300 2021. It also implemented a FAD fishing closure period for the entire Atlantic area for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. In addition, ICCAT increased coverage by its observer program from 5 percent to 10 percent and moved to develop minimum standards for electronic monitoring.
November 27, 2019 — The world’s major fishing nations have agreed “modest” quota cuts for the under-pressure Atlantic Bigeye tuna but critics say more should be done to protect an important food resource.
Scientists warn that unless the catch is reduced, stocks of Thunnus obesus—especially prized for sashimi in Japan and canned worldwide—could collapse within years.
A scientific report prepared for last year’s failed meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) showed numbers had plummeted to less than 20 percent of historic levels.
This is only about half what is needed to support a “maximum sustainable yield”—the largest catch that can be taken without compromising the long-term stability of a species.
Going into the meeting in Majorca, Spain, ICCAT had a headline quota of 65,000 tonnes, allocated to the seven groups, including Japan and the EU, with the largest catch.
When smaller members were included, this rose to around 77,000 tonnes, pushing the Bigeye further into the danger zone, according to NGOs.
November 27, 2019 — The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ended its annual meeting on Monday, 25 November, with members unable to approve a recovery plan conservationists believe is essential for the long-term survival of shortfin mako sharks.
At least two groups pinned the blame on the United States and the European Union. During the weeklong meeting in Mallorca, Spain, it was decided that the commission would continue to use guidelines passed two years ago that some fear will lead to further population declines.
November 15, 2019 — A new report, recently published on ResearchGate, has found that the current catch documentation method for Atlantic bluefin tuna used by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas leaves large loopholes that can be exploited by fishers catching more than what is allowed, allowing them to have illicit catch enter E.U. markets.
The report, funded by the WWF, is focused exclusively on the eastern bluefin tuna stock. It comes in the wake of the 2018 bluefin tuna trade scandal, which found an illicit trade network selling large amounts of illegally harvested bluefin tuna in Europe. A complex, multi-organization investigation that included the Spanish Guardia Civil and EUROPOL – dubbed Operation Tarantelo – discovered that the illicit trade of illegal bluefin tuna catch had been occurring for years. The trade involved most of the countries in the northern Mediterranean, with illegal bluefin tuna coming from Maltese farms and Italian fishing boats. One of the largest Spanish tuna farming operators, Ricardo Fuentes y Hijos, was found to be the mastermind behind the trade on the Spanish side, and used a number of companies to issue false ICCAT bluefin catch documentation. The volume of the resulting illicit trade was estimated to be around 2,500 metric tons a year, which would have represented 18.6 percent of the total quota for the E.U. in 2017.
February 8, 2019 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is looking for help in tagging tuna.
The Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Program was established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in 2015 to study key aspects of bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean.
As part of the AOTTP, Dr. Walt Golet from the University of Maine and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute will be working with colleagues at the New England Aquarium, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, University of Miami, and NOAA Fisheries to deploy 5,000 conventional tags on tuna in the western North Atlantic Ocean.
The effort will stretch from Canada to Venezuela and also includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
Those interested in participating in the AOTTP project and would like to volunteer to tag bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna, can contact Dr. Walt Golet at walter.golet@maine.edu.
NOAA says every fish tagged will give participants a chance to win one of 20 individual cash prizes, totaling more than $39,000, to be awarded at the end of the project.