Featured News
Action Needed to Protect Eastern Pacific Ocean Tuna Stocks
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Must Work Decisively When it Reconvenes in October
The August 2021 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) annual meeting yielded few positive results in advancing the Commission’s agenda to protect bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack tuna stocks in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
ISSF issued a position statement before the meeting calling for the adoption of a precautionary and science-based new version of the current inadequate IATTC conservation measure. And ISSF President Susan Jackson noted, “Decisive action on these items in August will clear the way for an October agenda that is set up for progress on other pressing topics like harvest strategies and monitoring, control, and surveillance. The added fall IATTC meeting must be viewed as further opportunity to adopt all much-needed measures before the end of the year—rather than a reason to delay decision-making at the August meeting.”
Unfortunately, the IATTC was unable to reach a consensus on a tuna conservation measure, delaying this critical goal until part two of its annual meeting in October.
ISSF is therefore urging all IATTC parties to come to the first day of their October meeting ready to adopt a new tropical tuna measure — allowing adequate time to address the other critical matters before the Commission this year.
Read the ISSF IATTC position statement
Featured Content
RFMO Best Practices Snapshots
A series of “snapshots” identify best practices for sustainable tuna fishing, from FAD management to IUU fishing activities. Updated to reflect 2020 outcomes, they compare tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) progress in implementing these practices in detailed tables. Two snapshots are highlighted here in advance of the IATTC meeting.
RFMO Best Practices Snapshot — 2021: FAD Management
RFMO Best Practices Snapshot — 2021: Observer Requirements
Featured Blog
ICYMI: Understanding the IUCN Red List
“In the days since the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released its updated Red List of Threatened Species™, many colleagues have contacted ISSF to celebrate IUCN’s news that four tuna species were no longer classified as endangered.
IUCN attributed the progress to countries enforcing sustainable fishing quotas and successfully combating illegal fishing, which are essential for protecting in-demand fish stocks and the marine ecosystem. In noting any improvements in tuna stock health, sustainable fishing stakeholders also should acknowledge successes in implementing needed fisheries management measures by tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations…
I welcome attention to the urgency regarding tuna stock sustainability, and I join in the celebration of hard-won gains in tuna conservation. But there is more to the story.”
Dr. Victor Restrepo considers why it’s important to understand how the IUCN Red List methodology compares to other tuna assessment criteria.
ISSF in the News
Purse seine tuna fleet grew this year, study finds
