The need for a third intersessional meeting of ICCAT’s Panel 1 this year highlights the challenges this Panel is facing in reaching consensus on a new tropical tuna measure, particularly for bigeye tuna. We hope this extra time will be effective in creating a constructive space for the Commission to discuss and prepare a proposal to be finalised at the Annual Session later this year.
What are the primary issues at ICCAT Panel 1?
Catches of tropical tuna species, bigeye (BET) and yellowfin (YFT), have exceeded their oceanwide Total Allowable Catch (TAC) allocations multiple times in recent years. Whilst BET is no longer subject to overfishing, and is showing signs of recovery, it remains overfished and should be given time to recover before it faces increased fishing pressure. The status of the YFT stock, however, remains less clear, because, since the last stock assessment in 2019, the TAC of 110,000 tonnes has been consistently exceeded, by as much as 35% in some years. This situation is expected to further degrade the health of this important stock.
What are IPNLF asking ICCAT to do?
Why is this important?
When a TAC is exceeded, the effectiveness of scientifically informed management measures are undermined. Catches beyond scientifically informed catch limits put the stock, and ocean ecosystems, under greater pressure by reducing its productivity and, therefore, its ability to recover from overfishing. This ultimately puts the future of the fishery, and the livelihoods it supports, in jeopardy, with strong socio-economic impacts, particularly on the cohesion of many coastal communities.
What are the primary issues at ICCAT?
Current allocation mechanisms do not include developing States in an equitable way and IPNLF are concerned by ongoing suggestions that the bigeye TAC should be increased in order to meet the more equitable allocation needs of developing coastal States.
What are IPNLF asking ICCAT to do?
Why is this important?
Tuna stocks are internationally shared natural resources, upon which millions of people financially and socially depend on around the world. As a result, despite their shared importance for large multinational fishing companies, the equity of allocated fishing opportunities should be at the heart of allocation discussions. IPNLF believes that equitable allocation to meet the rights and needs of all nations, especially developing coastal states representing impoverished communities and small-scale fisheries, should not be conditional upon increased catches being imposed upon an already overfished stock. Equity should be proactively, inherently and unavoidably incorporated within all RFMO allocation mechanisms.
What are the primary issues at ICCAT?
In the Atlantic, both the bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks face immense pressure due to excessive juvenile harvests which are driven most by industrial purse seine fleets’ use of drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs). These devices have a number of ecological impacts including changes to tuna migrations and, in parallel to direct tuna stock impacts, the current use and regular abandonment of entangling dFAD designs that are not fully composed of biodegradable materials causes ghost fishing, habitat damage and marine pollution. Many believe that current dFAD use contravenes marine pollution law and frequently represents illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing when dFADs enter national waters and marine protected areas without permissions or transparent monitoring.
What are IPNLF asking ICCAT to do?
Why is this important?
The SCRS have clearly and regularly emphasised the need to protect both the bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks from excessive juvenile harvests, which are mostly driven by dFAD use. During the most recent intersessional meeting of Panel 1, the SCRS Chair provided an excellent explanation as to how reducing juvenile catches can increase the potential sustainable MSY which reduces the risks and need for precaution within fisheries management decision making. This emphasised that effective FAD management measures are critical in enabling the Commission to meet its sustainability objectives.
Ambitious steps have been taken in other ocean areas to implement effective FAD management and improve the transparency of purse seine fisheries use of dFAD fisheries, so we urge ICCAT to also incorporate additional improvements such as those endorsed at the recent IOTC Special Session. Measures to improve transparency and data availability are particularly important at ICCAT where requests for “more science” are delaying action to ensure dFAD use can be sustainable in future.
The Atlantic yellowfin tuna stock currently has a TAC of 110,000 t, this has been exceeded for a number of consecutive years, most notably in 2020 when catches reached 149,202 t, 35% over TAC. In order to prevent deterioration of the stock into an overfished state, IPNLF encourage the Commission to:
Noting that the planned yellowfin tuna stock assessment is provisionally planned for 2023, IPNLF urge the Commission to ensure this stock is assessed in 2023 in order to inform timely conservation and management decisions for this stock.