Saving Seafood

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.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Tuna recovering – IUCN Red List

September 7, 2021 — The populations of four of the most commercially fished tuna species are showing signs of recovery but rising sea levels mean the Komodo dragon is now classed as endangered on the latest Red List of species at risk of extinction.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that compiles the list is also stepping up monitoring of marine species such as coral and deep sea snails to see how they are impacted by climate change and threats such as deep sea mining.

“Ocean species tend to be neglected as they are under the water and people don’t really pay attention to what is happening to them,” Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red List unit, told Reuters.

But as catch quotas and efforts to target illegal fishing showed signs of working, the outlook for tuna appears to be improving.

Atlantic bluefin tuna, a huge warm-blooded migratory predator that is prized for sushi and can sell for thousands of dollars, jumped three categories from “endangered” to “least concern” on the list, although some regional stocks remained severely depleted.

Read the full story at Reuters

Climate Change Will Force Tuna Migration, Cripple Small Island Nations, Study Finds

August 31, 2021 — The climate crisis and warming waters may cause tuna to redistribute, threatening tuna-dependent economies in the Pacific, a new study concludes.

“All fish have preferred water temperatures, i.e., temperatures that suit their physiology best and which provide optimum conditions for growth and reproduction,” explained Johann Bell, lead author on the study and senior director of tuna fisheries at Conservation International‘s Center for Oceans. The international nonprofit works to protect the critical benefits that nature provides to people through science, partnerships and fieldwork.

Water temperature affects the distribution and abundance of prey species, Bell continued. As the ocean warms, new locations may become more favorable for prey species, and the fish will move accordingly. The predatory fish like tuna will follow. If not, a shortage of food could affect their growth and survival, Bell said.

The study found that the best conditions for skipjack and yellowfin tuna — the target species for the large purse-seine fishery in the Pacific Islands region — will progressively keep moving to the east as the ocean warms. Therefore, a greater proportion of these tuna will be caught in high-seas areas to the east of and outside the jurisdictions of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Bell said.

Read the full story at EcoWatch

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

India objects to IOTC yellowfin tuna stock-rebuilding plan

August 24, 2021 — The interim plan for rebuilding the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna stock by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) should target cooperation of large-scale industrial fishing fleets, as opposed to small-scale fishers, according to India’s Department of Fisheries.

India has objected to the IOTC’s resolution on the rebuilding of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna. India Fisheries Development Commissioner Intisar Anees Siddiqui, in a letter to the IOTC Secretariat, said the large-scale industrial fishing fleets are to blame for reducing yellowfin tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean and “should bear much responsibility.”

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

US anti-IUU bill would expand SIMP to cover all imported seafood

August 9, 2021 — A recent committee meeting started the discussions on a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and slave labor in the seafood supply chain.

The bill, H.R. 3075, was covered during a recent meeting of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee. It would enact the expansion of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to cover all seafood and seafood products – the program, initiated in 2016, originally included tuna, king crab, blue crab, red snapper, Pacific and Atlantic cod, dolphinfish, grouper, sea cucumber, swordfish, and sharks in its coverage requirements, with shrimp added in 2019.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Climate change is causing tuna to migrate, which could spell catastrophe for the small islands that depend on them

August 2, 2021 — Small Pacific Island states depend on their commercial fisheries for food supplies and economic health. But our new research shows climate change will dramatically alter tuna stocks in the tropical Pacific, with potentially severe consequences for the people who depend on them.

As climate change warms the waters of the Pacific, some  will be forced to migrate to the open ocean of the high seas, away from the jurisdiction of any country. The changes will affect three key tuna species: skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye.

Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands and territories such as Tokelau charge foreign fishing operators to access their waters, and heavily depend on this revenue. Our research estimates the movement of tuna stocks will cause a fall in annual government revenue to some of these small island states of up to 17%.

This loss will hurt these developing economies, which need fisheries revenue to maintain essential services such as hospitals, roads and schools. The experience of Pacific Island states also bodes poorly for global climate justice more broadly.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Climate change threat to ‘tuna dependent’ Pacific Islands economies

July 30, 2021 — Climate change-driven redistribution of key commercial tuna species will deliver an economic blow to the small island states of the Western and Central Pacific and threaten the sustainability of the world’s largest tuna fishery, a major international study has found.

The study combines climate science, ecological modeling and economic data to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on Pacific tuna stocks and on the small island states that depend on them. It is published today in Nature Sustainability.

A consortium of institutions and organizations from across the Pacific, North America and Europe contributed to the research, including the University of Wollongong, Conservation International, the Pacific Community (SPC), the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office (PNAO).

The 10 island states of the Western and Central Pacific—Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tokelau and Tuvalu—are so reliant on their tuna fisheries for economic development and food security that they are considered “tuna dependent.”

Read the full story at PHYS.org

MSC warns WCPO tuna fisheries of potential certification suspension

July 28, 2021 — The Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) is warning that its certification of 22 tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) could be suspended if regional fisheries management organizations fail to act on measures to keep the fisheries harvested at sustainable levels.

According to an MSC press release, the tuna fisheries are facing suspension if there is no agreement to update management measures by June 2023. Losing the certification means the fisheries would also lose the MSC blue eco-label placed on their products sold at retail.

Read the full story at Seafood Source