December 2nd, 2016 — Seafoodnews.com — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) released a position statement ahead of the 13th Regular Session Meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) that calls for reducing bigeye tuna catches and limiting the use of non-entangling FADs to protect sharks.

The WCPFC is scheduled to meet in Nadi, Fiji, on December 5-9. The Commission oversees tuna stocks in the WCPO and is one of five tuna Regional Fishing Management Organizations (RFMOs).

“As stewards of the world’s largest tuna fishing grounds, WCPFC members carry a significant proportion of responsibility for the sustainable management of global tuna,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “The region has shown an active willingness to improve the way its fisheries are managed and protected. However, there is still progress to be made, including for the region’s bigeye stock.”

Bigeye catches were down 16 percent in 2015 compared to volumes in 2014 the ISSF said.  However, the group said that short-term projections reviewed during the 12th Regular Session of the WCPFC Scientific Committee (SC12) showed that bigeye remains overfished.

“To end overfishing, fishing mortality needs to be reduced by about 36%. Skipjack tuna also is at risk of overfishing unless the Target Reference Point (TRP) is maintained and effective capacity management curbs potential increases in fishing effort,” the ISSF said in its position statement.

In all ocean regions, the ISSF has recommended adoption and execution of harvest control strategies, which guide fisheries management decisions.

For WCPFC, ISSF is advocating adhering to the 2015 harvest strategy work plan, which requires the RFMO to determine a rebuilding time frame for bigeye, management objectives for albacore tuna, and acceptable levels of risk so that Management Strategy Evaluations (MSE) and other work can move forward in 2017.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.