Saving Seafood

IPNLF introduces Sourcing Transparency Platform for tuna supply chains

January 21, 2022 — The International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) has launched its Sourcing Transparency Platform (STP), an online portal designed to increase transparency in the tuna supply chain.

The STP is exclusive to IPNLF member-companies and aims to improve transparency of pole-and-line, handline, and troll (collectively known as one-by-one) tuna supply chains through public disclosure. Current tools that promote these small-scale tuna fisheries are often too expensive, according to IPNLF. The organization’s aim is to promote these fisheries at no cost to help increase their market access, and to promote responsible business practices of companies and educate consumers on responsible, ethical tuna products.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

IOTC publishes 2022 yellowfin tuna catch limits

January 11, 2022 — The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has, on the recommendation of its scientific committee, set the catch limit for yellowfin tuna at 287,140 metric tons (MT) in 2022.

IOTC Executive Secretary Christopher O’Brien said in early January that 24 of the commission’s members have been allocated varying catch limits in line with committee recommendations, with the European Union, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Yemen taking the lion’s share of the yellowfin tuna catch allocations.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Report declares tuna stocks in Western and Central Pacific Ocean not overfished

December 23, 2021 — The Western and Central Pacific Ocean’s bigeye, yellowfin, albacore, and skipjack tuna are all in healthy condition and the stocks are not overfished, according to a report issued recently by the Pacific Community.

According to the report, “The western and central Pacific tuna fishery: 2020 overview and status of stocks,” the tuna catch for 2020 was estimated at 2,743,310 metric tons (MT) a decrease from the record high of 2,987,934 MT caught in 2019.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Western Pacific Council Recommends New Approach for Pacific International Discussions

December 16, 2021 — Recent international Pacific tuna talks were deemed “unfavorable” for U.S. interests, according to fishery managers in Hawaii.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council had hoped to convince the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to almost double the Hawai‘i longline fishery bigeye tuna catch limits. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee supported it and the Council had worked on the increase for the past six years.

The U.S. delegation also asked the Commission to reduce the total catch on South Pacific albacore, with a goal of increasing albacore catch rates for fisheries such as American Samoa.

But the Commission disagreed. It disagreed with all of the U.S.-recommended changes.

Read the full story at Seafood News

US Request For More Bigeye Tuna Denied By Pacific Commission

December 9, 2021 — A drive to increase Hawaii longliners’ bigeye tuna quota has again fallen short at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The U.S. delegation to the WCPFC requested that its longline bigeye quota be increased by 3,000 metric tons, noting stocks appeared to not be overfished and were not unhealthy, so could withstand an increase in fishing levels.

The proposed increase to the bigeye quota was made during the WCPFC’s 18th annual session, which ended on Tuesday, but the agreement failed to get across the line. Instead, the commission opted to keep the status quo for the next two years.

WCPFC’s negotiations dictate fishing throughout the Pacific, which is home to some of the most valuable global fishing stocks. The commission’s members represent 26 economies, ranging from Japan and China to Fiji and Indonesia.

The Hawaii-based Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has supported raising U.S. catch limits for at least six years and was disappointed by the result, according to its executive director Kitty Simonds.

Read the full story at Honolulu Civil Beat

Pew Trusts, MSC Say WCPFC Need to Work Faster to Adopt Sustainable Tuna Harvest Strategies

December 9, 2021 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) warned that 22 tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) are at-risk of certification suspension after “disappointing progress” was made at the annual meeting of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) this month.

The MSC explained that the 28 MSC-certified fisheries in the WCPO have timebound conditions of certification to the MSC’s standard for sustainable fishing which requires harvest strategy adoption by 2023.

“Harvest strategies – or the rules which ensure the long-term management of stocks – act as a ‘safety net’ if currently healthy fish stocks begin to decline. They are fundamental to sound fisheries management, and are critical to future health of the stocks, especially for highly migratory species like tuna which span geopolitical boundaries,” the MSC wrote in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Ongoing certification of Western Central Pacific tuna fisheries hangs in the balance

December 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

A critical intergovernmental meeting has ended without the necessary progress to ensure long-term sustainable tuna fishing in the Western Central Pacific, but there is still time for country delegations to act to secure ongoing certification for skipjack and South Pacific albacore. 

Twenty-two tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) face an increasing risk of suspension of their certification to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) standard for sustainable fishing following disappointing progress at this month’s annual meeting of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).  

All 28 MSC certified tuna fisheries in the WCPO have timebound conditions of certification that require the adoption of harvest strategies by June 2023.

Harvest strategies – or the rules which ensure the long-term management of stocks – act as a ‘safety net’ if currently healthy fish stocks begin to decline. They are fundamental to sound fisheries management, and are critical to future health of the stocks, especially for highly migratory species like tuna which span geopolitical boundaries [1]. 

This week’s meeting of the 26 member delegations of the WCPFC [2] was a critical opportunity to make progress towards developing the science basis and management measure agreements needed to deliver these conditions.  

Negotiations on harvest strategies were however, postponed until December 2022 for skipjack and South Pacific albacore, and 2024 for yellowfin and bigeye. Despite this lack of progress, the commission did agree to hold a two-day science management meeting in August 2022, which could result in recommendations on harvest strategies in time for December 2022.

As a result, ongoing certification of skipjack and albacore beyond June 2023 is possible, but will now be dependent upon agreement and adoption of harvest strategies at the December 2022 meeting. With the delay until 2024 for WCPFC to adopt new harvest strategies for yellowfin and bigeye tuna, it is increasingly likely fisheries with certificates for these stocks will face suspension by their auditors in June 2023.

This slow progress will be particularly disappointing for retailers, brands and other supply chain companies which have committed to source tuna that meets the highest standards for environmental performance. Reflecting the value placed on MSC certification, 112 companies wrote in October to the Heads of Delegation at the WCPFC demanding that they accelerate action to develop comprehensive, harvest strategies across all tuna stocks. These calls included and have been supported by the Global Tuna Alliance, an independent group of retailers and tuna supply chain companies, responsible for tuna purchases worth USD$1.27 billion in 2020.

Tuna from the WCPO makes up over half of the global commercial tuna catch, making these tuna stocks the world’s most commercially important. Currently 85% of all MSC certified tuna caught comes from the WCPO. 78% of the MSC certified tuna caught in the WCPO is skipjack. The volume of tuna products sold with the blue MSC label has increased significantly in the past 5 years from 40,000 to 110,000 tonnes.

The growing demand for certified sustainable seafood choices has already driven improvements in fishing practices in the region.  For instance, fisheries such as the Fiji Abacore and yellowfin tuna fishery have introduced a number of measures to reduce bycatch. Using longlines to catch tuna, the fishery switched from wire, which can accidently entrap sharks, to monofilament traces which sharks can bite through. The fishery also fishes in deeper waters to avoid sharks. It has also increased transparency and accountability, such as through using electronic monitoring systems and installing onboard cameras on more than 50 of its boats.

The MSC joins with many others in calling for the WCPFC to make concrete progress towards the adoption of harvest strategies at the newly scheduled science management meeting in August, regular science and technical compliance committee meetings and agree and adopt harvest strategies at its next full meeting in December 2022. The MSC also calls on all those with an interest in the long-term sustainable management of our oceans to support this effort. Failure could not only result in the loss of MSC certification of these fisheries, but also leaves the long-term health of tuna in the WCPO in question and is forcing tuna buyers to look elsewhere to satisfy their sustainable sourcing commitments.  

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive Officer at the Marine Stewardship Council said: “The outcome of this week’s WCPFC meeting is disappointing for the fisheries, retailers, brands and supply chain companies which have worked so hard to achieve and support the high level of sustainability required for MSC certification. The unprecedented support for these fisheries to maintain their current MSC certifications from supermarkets and tuna brands from around the world demonstrates the growing market demand for and commitment to continue to source sustainable seafood despite the economic pressures and impacts of the current pandemic.  MSC certification provides the assurance the market demands. MSC urges all those committed to seeing our oceans fished sustainably and the implementation of the UN’s Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for the Ocean to urge their governments and delegations to do all they can to accelerate the development and adoption of harvest strategies and control rules that underpin sustainable fisheries management.”

 

More Bigeye for Pacific Longliners? Scientists Say Yes, Along with Increased Monitoring

December 7, 2021 — U.S. fishery managers propose increasing its Pacific bigeye tuna annual catch limit and gets the Western Pacific Fishery management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee’s blessing.

The SSC discussed issues related to bigeye tuna management last week at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting and endorsed the U.S. proposal to increase its bigeye tuna catch from 3,554 metric tons to 6,554 metric tons for the U.S. longline fishery. That endorsement includes an increase in minimum observer coverage for Western and Central Pacific longline fisheries from 5% to 10%.

WCPFC analyses demonstrate the Pacific bigeye tuna stock may sustainably withstand a modest increase in longline catch for the Hawai‘i-based fishery, noting it operates in a region of low levels of biomass depletion, the Council said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Scientists Support New Measures, Changes to Hawaii Longline Tuna Fishery

December 3, 2021 — Blue bait or tori lines: Which is better for saving seabirds?

To the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, tori lines.

The SSC continued to support replacing blue-dyed fish bait and strategic offal discard requirements in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery with tori lines for seabird bycatch mitigation when it met recently.

Read the full story at SeafoodNews.com

 

WPRFMC: Western Pacific Scientists Support Tori Lines Over Blue-Dyed Bait in Tuna Fishery and Exploring New Bottomfish Management Approach

December 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council continued to support replacing blue-dyed fish bait and strategic offal discard requirements in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery with tori lines for seabird bycatch mitigation. Results from field experiments conducted in the past three years under an experimental fishing permit showed that Laysan and black-footed albatross were 4 times less likely to come in contact with baited hooks when participating vessels used tori lines, or bird scaring lines, versus blue-dyed bait. Tori lines have proved effective in other longline fisheries around the world.

SSC members discussed various impacts the management alternatives could have on the U.S. longline commercial fishery, including additional crew time required to create and clean up the blue-dyed bait. The SSC supports removal of strategic offal discharge as a requirement since there is inconclusive scientific evidence that it provides a conservation benefit, especially in light of the tori line effect on seabird interaction rates. In lieu of this requirement, the management measure would include best practice training for longline vessel owners and operators on offal management at the required annual National Marine Fisheries Service protected species workshop.

The SSC provides scientific advice to the Council, which is considering modifications to a regulatory amendment to improve seabird conservation. The Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery, which targets bigeye tuna, has been using a suite of seabird mitigation measures since 2001 under the Council’s Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan.

After reviewing a workshop report on American Samoa bottomfish data evaluation, the SSC supported a single-species management approach for the next stock assessment scheduled for 2023. The American Samoa bottomfish fishery is managed in an 11-species complex, which is overfished and experiencing overfishing, according to a 2019 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) assessment. The PIFSC Stock Assessment Program reported there are sufficient data to explore the use of single-species assessments for most managed bottomfish species except for pink snapper (palu-‘ena‘ena, Pristipomoides filamentosus).

The report summarized information collected from six systems and highlighted the data quantity, quality and changes over time. The catch per unit effort data from the creel surveys and the resulting estimated catch are highly uncertain, particularly for species that are not well represented in the surveys. However, there is sufficient information for a single species, age-based assessment using length information from the PIFSC diver surveys and biosampling program, and territory boat-based creel surveys.

Creel surveys collect general fisheries data provided voluntarily by commercial and noncommercial boat and shore fishermen. Moving forward with a single-species approach may require changes in conservation and management measures.

The SSC meeting continues tomorrow with discussions on pelagic and international fisheries. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agenda and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/142nd-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.