Position Statement
ICYMI: Action Needed to Protect Eastern Pacific Ocean Tuna Stocks
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 next week. ISSF is therefore urging all IATTC parties to come to the first day of the 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
Questions and Answers About FADs & Bycatch
How does the bycatch of non-target species in purse seine fisheries compare to other major global fisheries?
Do sets on FADs and other fishing methods catch juvenile tunas? What are their impacts?
These questions are examples of the many timely inquiries addressed in a newly revised ISSF technical report, Questions and Answers About FADs and Bycatch, co-authored by ISSF scientists Hilario Murua, Ana Justel-Rubio, Gala Moreno and Victor Restrepo, as well as marine scientist Laurent Dagorn. Illustrated throughout with charts and graphics, the report has been updated to reflect the latest tuna fisheries data.
A related blog by Dr. Victor Restrepo, Reviewing Progress on the Path to Better Designed, Better Managed FADs, reviews the efforts of ISSF, together with research, NGO, and industry partners, to ensure that FAD fisheries are sustainable for the long term.
Featured Graphic
Bycatch Rates by Ocean & Set Type
An infographic shows bycatch rates for both free school sets and FAD sets in tuna purse-seine fisheries in four ocean regions over a 10-year period. It’s based on presentation data shared at the International Workshop on Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries co-presented by ISSF and the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project.
