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ISSF, Pew Charitable Trusts, and BirdLife International Host Joint Side Event at WCPFC Annual Meeting

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), the Pew Charitable Trusts and BirdLife International co-hosted a side event on the occasion of the 15th Meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event, held yesterday on the first day of the commission meeting, focused on priority topics facing managers of the world’s largest tuna fishing grounds: the regulation of at-sea transshipment; monitoring compliance with rules for reducing bird bycatch in longline fisheries; and the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs).

ISSF, @PewTrusts & @BirdLife_News co-hosted a #WCPFC side event on #transshipment, #seabird bycatch & #FAD research. Click To Tweet

Event Presentations

Tuna fisheries science and policy experts from each of the three event sponsors presented data and insights, before taking questions from an audience of WCPFC meeting attendees:

Jamie Gibbon, Associate Manager of Global Tuna Conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts, presented a set of best practices for well-managed at-sea transshipment (the movement of fish from a fishing vessel to a refrigerated carrier vessel or “reefer” while at sea) that have been agreed to by leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the NGO Tuna Forum.

At-sea transshipment has continued to grow as a practice in the WCPO and other oceans, and yet monitoring and data reporting of this at-sea practice remains inadequate. A report presented to this year’s Technical and Compliance Committee (TCC) meeting indicates that a number of WCFPC member countries are failing to meet the WCPFC-mandated reporting deadlines and other rules governing at-sea transshipment.

Karen Baird, Birdlife International Marine Programme’s Pacific Coordinator, spoke on tools for monitoring compliance with WCFPC rules for reducing seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. Specifically, Ms. Baird presented the results of the first independent assessment of night setting — a practice where longline vessels make sets during the hours of darkness, between nautical dusk and dawn, so as to avoid periods when seabirds are actively foraging — using data from Global Fishing Watch.

BirdLife International and Global Fishing Watch analysed over 60,000 sets from 300 vessels. The project’s goal was to assess if vessels are using the night-setting option of RFMO seabird bycatch regulations.

Holly Koehler, Vice President, Policy and Outreach at ISSF, presented research on the latest ISSF-supported FAD research in collaboration with industry partners, including on biodegradable FADs.The WCPFC Commission and the region’s coastal States, where FAD sets account for about 30 percent of tropical tuna catches, currently have some measures in place to regulate the use of FADs, as well as requirements for at-sea transshipment, Koehler said. But the Commission has yet to adopt binding regulations for the use of non-entangling or lower entangling FAD designs.

Given the risk of ecosystem impacts from FADs — including beaching, marine debris, and mortality of sharks and turtles — it is essential to require the use of lower-entangling FAD designs and to take steps toward requiring fully non-entangling FAD designs and biodegradable FADs. Ms. Koehler shared that, based on preliminary analyses of tracking data from FAD buoys by Parties to the Nauru Agreement, in recent years an estimated 25 percent of FADs drifted out of main fishing areas and a minimum of 5 percent were beached.

Learn more about ISSF’s priorities for the 2018 WCPFC meeting by reviewing the ISSF position statement here: https://dev.iss-foundation.org/what-we-do/influence/position-statements/download-info/2018-wcpfc-position-statement/

ISSF Launches Interactive Online Resource for Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs)

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has launched its FIP Resources Finder, an online tool for fisheries that matches more than 200 ISSF reports, guidebooks, and other resources to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Principles and Performance Indicators (PIs).

The Finder is designed for tuna fishery improvement projects (FIPs) seeking information and support to address issues in fisheries, earn passing scores on MSC Pis, achieve MSC fishery certification and ultimately to close conditions in a certified fishery. A fishery improvement project is a multi-stakeholder effort to address environmental challenges in a fishery. The ISSF tool is also designed for use by fisheries undergoing pre-assessments against the MSC Fisheries Standard. 

We've launched an online tool especially for #fisheries pursuing @MSCecolabel #certification -- the #FIP Resources Finder. Click To Tweet

MSC certification is a science-based global standard in sustainable fishing based on three Principles — Sustainable fish stocks (Principle 1), Minimizing environmental impacts (Principle 2), and Effective Management (Principle 3) — incorporating 28 Performance Indicators. Helping all tuna fisheries to become capable of realizing MSC’s certification standards “without conditions” is ISSF’s long-time guiding objective, and assisting FIPs is a core element of ISSF’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.  ISSF is the only NGO worldwide focused primarily on tuna-fishery sustainability.

How to Use the Finder

ISSF’s online resources and technical services can help FIPs improve performance on specific MSC Principles and Performance Indicators as they seek fishery certification. The FIP Resources Finder gives fishery stakeholders two ways to find helpful tools:

  • Select an MSC PI of interest, and then view a curated list of ISSF resources that support improvement on that PI.
  • Peruse a master list of the 200+ resources in the Finder by name and other characteristics.

In both the master and individual PI lists, the most important resources are “featured” in yellow at the top. Lists can be searched by keyword, and resources can by filtered by:

  • Resource type, such as Advocacy materials, Guidebooks, or Skippers Workshops
  • Topic, including bycatch, FADs, Supply Vessels, or Transshipment
  • Use, such as during preassessment, within a FIP, or both
  • Fishery gear type, including Gillnet, Longline, Purse Seine, and/or Pole and Line

All online resources in the Finder are linked to Webpages or PDFs, and email and social-network links at the top of each list make it easy to share resource information with FIP colleagues and other stakeholders.

ISSF also offers a FIP Support Form for requesting ISSF to provide technical services to a FIP — such as consultations, specific workshops, or asking fishery-improvement questions.

“ISSF tools and resources have always been complementary to FIPs, but our new FIP Resources Finder is one significant step of many in our effort to aid FIPs more directly in reaching their individual objectives,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “ISSF’s ultimate objective is to improve the sustainability of global tuna stocks, and one key component of that is to support fisheries in crossing the finish line for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification. FIPs are part of our long-term strategy, and we’re excited to work more directly with them.”

Engaging with FIPs

ISSF engages with FIPs in many ways, as outlined in ISSF’s Strategic Plan, Advancing Sustainable Tuna Fisheries:

  • Provide science-based guidance and advocacy support as a stakeholder in FIPs that seek to achieve MSC certification standards
  • Provide support and tools to tuna fisheries that are MSC-certified with conditions so they may close those conditions
  • Provide FIPs that seek to meet MSC certification standards with science-based guidance, data and tools, as well as advocacy support at the RFMO and national levels, to support the implementation of FIP work plans
  • Make available ISSF verification tools to all tuna fisheries, including tools for participating company traceability and vessel best practices, so they may transparently demonstrate progress

To learn more about FIPs and ISSF’s work with tuna fisheries, explore the Fisheries Improvement section of the ISSF Website.

Pacific Tuna Managers: Time to Adopt Stronger FAD Management and At-Sea Transshipment Regulations

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

By Claire van der Geest and Bubba Cook

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is in an enviable position. All WCPFC tuna stocks — except for Pacific Bluefin tuna — are at healthy levels. That is, the ISSF Status of the Stocks report rates these stocks as “green,” which means they are not overfished nor subject to overfishing.

Prior management actions taken by WCPFC and its member nations — as well as by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Forum Agency (FFA) and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) coastal states for their national waters — have created this positive picture. But further improvements are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) resources region-wide and to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities that threaten them. 

This December’s WCPFC annual meeting presents an opportunity to review supporting measures to the tropical tuna ones already in place, measures that can bolster management of the region’s fisheries. To that end, ISSF, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and our respective stakeholders are calling on WCPFC to adopt new measures — or amend existing ones — that will:

  • Strengthen FAD management by including mandatory use of non-entangling designs, a progressive shift to biodegradable materials (excluding the buoys) in the non-entangling designs, complete reporting of FAD tracking data, and the adoption of science-based limits on FAD deployments and/or FAD sets; and
  • Strengthen management of at-sea transshipment for longline vessels to reduce the likelihood of IUU fishing activities, labour abuses, and other illicit activities, and to address ongoing non-compliance consistently identified in the WCPFC Technical and Compliance Committee (TCC).

Why FAD Management?

FADs are man-made floating objects specifically designed to attract and aggregate fish. FADs are widely used as a fishing gear due to the efficiency advantage they provide, but they can be associated with several negative ecosystem impacts, such as higher bycatch of some species and beaching (when a FAD that was previously drifting at sea washes ashore and becomes grounded or entangled on a reef).

While FAD sets account for approximately 40% of the purse-seine-caught tuna in the WCPFC, the ultimate fate of FADs remains poorly understood. In preliminary analyses, PNA tracking data from FAD buoys has proven valuable for estimating the number of active FADs and to determine FAD fate (an estimated 25% of the FADs drifted out of main fishing areas and a minimum of 5% were beached.1

Additionally, FADs often incorporate old netting that entangles marine species like sharks and can result in “ghost fishing” (where fishing gear that is lost continues to function by catching fish or ensnaring other marine animals), and the use of plastic components in FADs contributes to ocean pollution and marine debris. It is evident that managers need greater understanding of this gear to improve measures that regulate its impact. 

ISSF, in collaboration with industry, researchers and governments, has undertaken significant research on FAD designs. This research shows that the use of non-entangling FAD designs by tuna vessels minimises the capture of bycatch species, including sharks and turtles. ISSF is also leading collaborative research on biodegradable FADs, to explore how to minimise the introduction of plastic into the marine environment via FADs and beaching. 

Although the WCPFC and WCPO coastal states have implemented FAD management measures, a mandatory requirement for the use of non-entangling FAD designs remains outstanding. We’re asking WCPFC delegates to adopt provisions that detail such a requirement, as recommended by the FAD Working Group, including a clear timeframe for the mandatory use of biodegradable FADs, as proposed by FFA Members and the European Union. And we are supporting requirements for FAD tracking and the development of protocols or policies for FAD recovery.

How to Strengthen At-Sea Transshipment

Transshipment is the transfer of fish or fish products, at sea or in port, from one fishing vessel to either another fishing vessel or to a vessel used solely for the carriage of cargo, for further transport. At-sea transshipments are of special concern in fishery management since, if not properly monitored, they can complicate the collection of accurate data and the traceability of product, creating a fertile environment for IUU fishing activities.

Although the WCPFC promotes in-port transshipment, at-sea transshipment is permissible if a member country states that it is “impractical” to conduct transshipment in port. There are currently 10 countries that permit their longline vessels to conduct at-sea transshipment. This exemption has resulted in an increasing number of longline vessels conducting at-sea transshipment in the WCPO — in effect, the exception is becoming the rule.   

WCPFC reports continue to show that specific member countries persist in their non-compliance with the current WCPFC measure on transshipment. Along with failing to provide observer reports to WCPFC, these members are also not providing advance notification of the intention to tranship, nor are they reporting transshipment events — all of which are basic requirements for managed transshipments at sea. 

Given this ongoing non-compliance by some WCPFC member countries — and the availability of electronic monitoring — we echo the strong support for the TCC recommendation. We urge the Commission to undertake a thorough review of its transshipment regulation in 2019 and adopt substantive improvements.

In particular, ISSF and WWF urge the adoption of amendments that include, among others:

  • Implementing real time, or near real-time, reporting for all components of transshipments
  • Automatically including any vessels involved in transshipment breaches on the draft IUU vessel list
  • Replacing the clauses regarding the “impracticability” test and unfettered flag State authorization with clear criteria and a process for the Commission to review issued flag State transshipment at-sea authorizations against those criteria to ensure compliance

As we prepare to travel to Hawaii for this year’s WCPFC annual session, we ask that you join our efforts to achieve sustainable management of Pacific tuna fisheries: Urge your country’s support in adopting strengthened management of FADs and at-sea transshipment activities.

Claire van der Geest is Strategic Policy Advisor for ISSF and Bubba Cook is the Western and Central Pacific Ocean Tuna Programme Manager at World Wide Fund for Nature.

1WCPFC SC14 2018/MI-WP-09

Managers Fail to Act to End Overfishing or Rebuild Bigeye and Yellowfin Stocks

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

By Dr. Victor Restrepo and Holly Koehler

When I set off for Croatia for the recent annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), I was hopeful that fisheries managers in the Atlantic Ocean region would act decisively to improve the sustainability of their tropical tuna fisheries. Unfortunately, despite eight days of intense negotiations, my hopes — and the appeals of many of our colleagues and stakeholders — were not realized.

At the outset of the ICCAT meeting, ISSF was especially concerned with the fate of measures for bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks. That’s because data show that the region’s bigeye tuna stock is overfished and subject to overfishing and that yellowfin tuna may be experiencing overfishing as well.

As a result, ISSF urged action to reduce the mortality of small bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the purse seine fishery by adopting one or more measures — in addition to fully allocated catch limits — as potential solutions; measures like:

  • Expanded time/area fishery closures and fishing effort controls
  • Limitations on the use of supply and support vessels
  • Strengthened fish aggregating device (FAD) management

But fisheries managers in the ICCAT region failed to reach an agreement on stronger tuna conservation measures; they opted to continue with the existing measures for tropical tunas for another year. We are disappointed that no science-based tuna management recommendations were approved, and we are especially concerned that no progress was made to strengthen FAD management.

With about 50 percent of the Atlantic’s tropical tuna caught using FADs, improving how managers regulate FAD use is essential to the long-term viability of the region’s fisheries. Better FAD management can help end bigeye and yellowfin overfishing in the region.

A scarcity of data is hurting the Commission’s efforts to better manage FADs. Although ICCAT requires FAD data submission for scientific use, only a handful of the region’s fishing nations are complying — thus hindering stock and broader fisheries analyses by ICCAT scientists. ISSF’s appeals to ICCAT to improve implementation of this critical reporting requirement went unanswered.

With no progress on tuna management or FADs, overfishing of bigeye — and likely yellowfin — tuna stocks will continue. The stocks will likely be in worse shape next year, and the negotiation of appropriate conservation measures will become even more difficult than it was this year.

Some Wins to Applaud

One bright spot at this year’s ICCAT meeting was progress made to fight illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. First, ICCAT modernized its vessel monitoring systems (VMS) requirement, specifically, so that the collection and transmission of data occurs at least every hour for purse seine vessels and at least every two hours for other vessel types (the previous measure required a four-hour frequency). This has been one of ISSF’s long-standing best-practice asks of ICCAT.

ICCAT also adopted needed improvements to its IUU vessel listing measure by, for example, allowing the cross listing of vessels listed by non-tuna RFMOs (like carrier vessels) and removing the measure’s previous limitation to fishing vessels of 12m or greater. In addition, ICCAT adopted amendments to its recommendation on port state measures to better align with the FAO Port State Measures Agreement. Together, these actions go a long way in combating IUU activities that threaten the long-term sustainability of tuna resources.

A final important accomplishment this year was progress in modernizing the ICCAT Convention text — a great success for the Commission. These amendments will strengthen ICCAT’s mandate and tools to sustainably manage not only the tuna resources of the Atlantic, but also sharks and the broader marine ecosystem. And they will help ICCAT combat IUU activities and implement the precautionary approach to fisheries management.

I hope you will join our efforts to demand progress for Atlantic Ocean tuna fisheries. More work is obviously needed to urge precautionary and science-based action at ICCAT. ISSF will continue to work cooperatively with our diverse, multi-sector stakeholders to ensure the enduring health of tunas and ecosystems of the Atlantic Ocean.

ISSF Announces New and Amended Conservation Measures for Longline Vessels, Tuna Supply Chain and Data Reporting

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today the adoption of two new conservation measures to facilitate continuous improvement across global tuna fisheries. ISSF also amended two of its existing conservation measures. Adoption of the new measures supports the expansion of ISSF efforts to the longline fishing sector, doubling the number of measures that apply to longline vessels specifically, the first of which were adopted in April 2017.

All ISSF conservation measures directly affect how nearly 30 global seafood companies that are ISSF participating companies environmentally manage their respective tuna supply chains.

“Our work at ISSF is ever evolving. We regularly review ISSF conservation measures to update existing standards or to create new commitments in line with the latest fisheries research or to address conservation needs,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “With about 75 percent of the world’s canned tuna processing capacity conforming to dozens of ISSF measures for sustainability best practices — and with major tuna companies being transparently audited against these measures — we are driving unique and positive change across the world’s tuna fisheries.”

ISSF has doubled the number of #conservation measures that apply to #longline #tuna #vessels. Click To Tweet

New ISSF Conservation Measures — Greater Transparency for Longliners

The ISSF ProActive Vessel Register (PVR) is a public internet database that tracks detailed vessel information and how vessels are following science-based practices that support sustainable tuna fisheries. MRAG Americas, a third party, independent auditor, audits vessels that join the PVR with respect to these practices; vessels that join the PVR commit to provide regular, accurate information about those activities. Because the PVR brings transparency to the tuna supply chain, ISSF has worked to increase the number of fishing vessels the Register lists — from less than 200 vessels in 2012, the year it was launched, to more than 1,000 as of October 31, 2018.  

The ISSF Status of the Stocks report shows that longline fishing accounts for 12% of the tuna catch globally, or more than 562,000 tonnes. While some tuna longline vessels are already listed on the PVR — 202 of the total 1,099 vessels listed are longliners — the newly adopted ISSF conservation measures amplify the PVR’s ability to increase transparency and accountability amongst longline tuna fishing vessels.

Specifically, ISSF Conservation Measure 7.1(b) – Controlled Vessels – Longline states that ISSF participating companies:

Shall register by June 1, 2019, all controlled longline vessels fishing for albacore, yellowfin and bigeye tuna on the ISSF ProActive Vessel Register (PVR) and thereafter maintain such registration indefinitely. 

And ISSF Conservation Measure 7.5 – Purchases from PVR Vessels – Longline states that, effective December 31, 2019, ISSF participating companies purchasing specified tuna species from longline vessels, shall:

  1. Develop and make public by December 31, 2019, a statement of intent to increase purchases from longline vessels registered on the PVR
  2. Publish the percentage of their longline purchases from PVR registered longline vessels by March 31, 2020, or indicate no such purchases made.

Read more on Conservation Measure 7.1(b) and Conservation Measure 7.5.

Amended ISSF Conservation Measures — Tuna Supply Chain and Data Reporting

In addition to the adoption of two new measures, the ISSF Board amended two existing measures: ISSF Conservation Measure 2.4 and ISSF Conservation Measure 2.2.

ISSF Conservation Measure 2.4 – Purchase Requirements from ISSF Participating Companies to Enhance the Effectiveness of ISSF Conservation Measures, originally adopted in October 2017, is amended to become Conservation Measure 2.4 – Supply Chain Transparency, Audit, Reporting and Purchase Requirements, with an effective date of January 1, 2020.

“ISSF conservation measures lead to sustainability best practices permeating a participating company’s tuna supply chain,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Conservation Measure 2.4 accelerates the impact of some of these sustainability best practices amongst an even greater portion of the tuna industry. More companies will be subject to reporting and independent audit processes — a gain in transparency and accountability for the industry, the market and for the long-term viability of the world’s tuna fisheries.”

ISSF Conservation Measure 2.4 requires that the nearly 30 ISSF participating companies purchase tuna products primarily from other suppliers that are either ISSF participants or that acquire the newly created designation of an ISSF Data Check Company. Any tuna processor, marketer or trader that commits to conform to all ISSF conservation measures, commits to the ISSF compliance audit process, and successfully completes an initial audit of its traceability system may apply to become an ISSF participating company. Any tuna supplier that has a published compliance audit report with respect to five specific ISSF conservation measures may become an ISSF Data Check Company. Those five ISSF conservation measures are: Conservation Measure 2.2 – Quarterly Data Submission to RFMO; Conservation Measure 1.1 – Tuna RFMO Authorized Vessel Record; Conservation Measure 4.1 – Unique Vessel Identifiers – IMO; Conservation Measure 4.2 – Purse Seine Unique Vessel Identifiers; and Conservation Measure 5.1 – Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU Fishing).

Conservation Measure 2.4 specifically states that, regarding albacore, skipjack, yellowfin and/or bigeye tuna, ISSF Participating Companies shall:

  1. For purchases from fish trading organizations that trade 10,000 tons or more of tuna annually (not directly from fishing vessels), purchase all round; gilled and gutted; or headed, gilled and gutted tuna from:
    1. ISSF Participating Companies; or
    2. Companies designated by ISSF as Data Check Companies that have a published compliance audit report with respect to ISSF Conservation Measures 2, 1.1, 4.1, 4.2, and 5.1, as determined and reported by the ISSF external auditor on or before January 1, 2020, and subsequently become ISSF Participating Companies on or before January 1, 2021. 
  1. If purchasing from processing organizations that purchase and process more than 12,500 round tons per year, purchase all frozen loins or processed, shelf-stable, canned or pouched products of tuna from:
    1. ISSF Participating Companies; or
    2. Companies designated by ISSF as Data Check Companies that have a published compliance audit report with respect to ISSF Conservation Measure 2.2, 1.1, 4.1, 4.2, and 5.1, as determined and reported by the ISSF external auditor on or before January 1, 2020, and subsequently become ISSF Participating Companies on or before January 1, 2021.

Complete details on the Data Check designation, including Terms and Conditions, are available in the full text of the conservation measure on the ISSF website, as well as an application form.

Conservation Measure 2.4 was originally recommended to the ISSF Board by ISSF’s Environmental Stakeholder (ESC) and Scientific Advisory Committees (SAC) to reduce existing gaps in the receipt of data by tuna RFMO scientific bodies — gaps that a fragmented and global supply chain can perpetuate. Specifically, the committee intended that a greater number of tuna companies be beholden to ISSF Conservation Measure 2.2, which requires participating companies to submit species and catch data to RFMOs quarterly because “the scientific findings of the RFMO scientific bodies depend on the completeness and accuracy of the supporting data available to them.” As amended, Conservation Measure 2.4 will expand industry commitment to best practices beyond RFMO data submission that are critical in the elimination of IUU fishing.

Finally, the ISSF Board amended ISSF Conservation Measure 2.2, to require the use of a specific and consistent format when ISSF participating companies submit quarterly data to RFMOs. Starting with the reports corresponding to the fourth quarter of 2019, submissions shall use the format available for download on the ISSF website. The amendment comes as a result of research and guidance from the ISSF SAC, following their analysis of the current use of the data in different RFMOs.

About ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance

ISSF is a global partnership among scientists, the tuna industry and the environmental non-governmental community whose mission is to undertake science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health.

Since its inception in 2009, ISSF has adopted conservation measures and commitments to facilitate this mission with the intent that processors, traders, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry will follow them to facilitate real and continuous improvement across global tuna stocks. Each ISSF participating company commits to conform to these conservation measures to improve the long-term health of tuna fisheries. They also must adhere to the ISSA Compliance Policy.

ISSF-participating tuna companies, which represent about 75% of global canned-tuna production and include well-known brand names, are audited yearly by MRAG Americas on their operational transparency and compliance with ISSF conservation measures.

86% of Global Tuna Catch Comes from Stocks at Healthy Levels; Some Stocks Remain Overfished

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

Of the total tuna catch, 86% came from stocks at “healthy” levels, an 8% increased share of the total catch since last reported, according to an October 2018 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report. Skipjack tuna stocks — at healthy levels in all ocean regions — still comprise more than one-half of the total catch.

Our latest #tuna #stock-status report reveals notable changes for several commercial #species. Click To Tweet

Though many of the broad indicators of overall global stock health remain unchanged, there were several notable changes for specific commercial tuna species:

The assessment for Western and Central Pacific bigeye was more optimistic, showing that the stock is not overfished and that recent management measures put in place by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) appear to be working effectively.

Atlantic Ocean bigeye received a pessimistic stock assessment from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and remains overfished. In 2017, Atlantic bigeye catches exceeded the total allowable catch (TAC) by approximately 20%. ISSF has long advocated that ICCAT adopt stock-specific management measures to effectively control the catch of bigeye and other overfished species in the region including Atlantic yellowfin.

Catches of Eastern Pacific bigeye in 2017 increased 10% from 2016 levels. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Council (IATTC) conducted an update assessment of the stock that appears to indicate that the stock is experiencing overfishing. The results should be viewed with caution due to the high levels of uncertainty in the assessment. Nevertheless, several fishery indicators suggest that the management measures in place are insufficient to effectively control fishing.

The stock status of South Pacific albacore is confirmed as very healthy, but the stock assessment covers only the WCPFC Convention Area South of the equator, not taking into consideration part of the catches from the IATTC Convention Area (EPO).

There were no other major changes in tuna stock status since the previous February 2018 Status of the Stocks report; the updated report reflects new data made available at 2018 tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) meetings held through October 2018.

Key Statistics in the Report

  • Total catch: In 2016, the total major commercial tuna catch was 4.9 million tonnes. More than half of the total catch (57%) was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (30%), bigeye (8%) and albacore (4%). Bluefin tunas (3 species) accounted for only 1% of the global catch. These percentages changed only slightly from the February 2018 report.
  • Abundance or “spawning biomass” levels: Globally, 65% of the 23 stocks are at a healthy level of abundance, 13% are overfished and 22% are at an intermediate level. In terms of total catch, 86% come from healthy stocks, 10% from overfished stocks and 4% from stocks at an intermediate level. Unchanged from the last reporting, the stocks receiving orange scores — indicating overfished status — remain Atlantic Ocean bigeye, Pacific Ocean bluefin and Indian Ocean yellowfin.
  • Fishing mortality levels: 70% of the 23 stocks are experiencing a well-managed fishing mortality rate and 17% are experiencing overfishing.
  • Largest catches by stock: The five largest catches in tonnes are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, Indian Ocean skipjack, Indian Ocean yellowfin and Eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack.
  • Tuna production by ocean region: Most (53%) of the world’s tuna is harvested from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, followed by the Indian Ocean (20%), Eastern Pacific Ocean (13%) and Atlantic Ocean (10%).
  • Tuna production by fishing gear: 65% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (12%), pole-and-line (8%), gillnets (3%) and miscellaneous gears (12%). These percentages have not changed since the February report.

About the Report

There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide — 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. Updated several times per year, Status of the Stocks assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF produces two reports annually that seek to provide clarity about where we stand — and how much more needs to be done — to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks: the Status of the Stocks provides a comprehensive analysis of tuna stocks by species, and the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Criteria provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) in Status of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report. Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention.

In addition, ISSF maintains a data-visualization tool based on its Status of the Stocks report. The “Status of the Stocks Tool” is located on the ISSF website and accessible through the Status of the Stocks overview page; users can easily toggle through tuna stock health indicators and filter by location, species and other key stock health and catch factors.

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Editor’s Note: Key global tuna catches statistics are calculated using 2016 data. Note that 2017 catches were not available for some of the ocean regions at the time of updating the report.

 

Stronger Management & Better Data Are Key to Protecting Tropical Tunas in Atlantic Fisheries

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

In the Atlantic Ocean region, managers will soon have the opportunity to improve the sustainability of their tropical tuna fisheries. They must seize that opportunity.

Two species of tuna are of special concern this year — bigeye and yellowfin. The latest data definitively indicate that the region’s bigeye tuna stock is overfished and subject to overfishing; yellowfin tuna may be experiencing overfishing as well.

How did we get here? For bigeye tuna, the total allowable catch or TAC — a control measure that limits the overall catch for a specific fish stock, as agreed to by fishery managers — has been exceeded by about 20 percent in recent years. And TACs for yellowfin tuna are exceeded by anywhere from 17 to 37 percent annually.

A major complication is that the tuna catch limit for yellowfin tuna is not allocated between fishing gears or nations operating in the Atlantic Ocean — and only partially allocated between fishing nations for bigeye. This lack of accountability regarding catch limits makes it difficult to take corrective measures when the limits are exceeded. When the adopted limits are not real limits, how can we manage a fishery?

That’s why our organization, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation — in an appeal echoed by our many stakeholders — is asking fisheries managers at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to act decisively at their annual meeting in Croatia this month. Managers must take action to reduce the mortality of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the purse seine fishery. Potential measures, in addition to fully allocated catch limits, could include:

  • Expanded time/area fishery closures and fishing effort controls;
  • Limitations on the use of supply and support vessels; and
  • Strengthened fish aggregating device (FAD) management.

Why FAD Management?

Fundamental to our request for strengthened FAD management is an urgent need for improved FAD data reporting at ICCAT. But why the focus on FADs in the first place?

FADs are man‑made floating objects specifically designed to encourage fish aggregation around them. In the Atlantic, they are set to drift in the open ocean (drifting FADs). FADs are widely used as a fishing method due to their high efficiency, although they have been associated with several negative ecosystem impacts, such as bycatch and overfishing.

With approximately 50 percent of the Atlantic’s tropical tuna caught using FADs, it’s clear that progress toward sustainable tuna must include improving how fisheries managers regulate FAD use. Strengthened FAD management, together with full quota accountability, can address the overfishing of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the region, as well as effective tuna management overall.

Yet managers at ICCAT are severely constrained in their work to better manage FADs due to a fundamental lack of data. Since 2013, ICCAT has required the submission of FAD data for scientific use. But each year only a handful of the fishing nations operating in the ICCAT region are submitting the required data. What little data is submitted is typically incomplete, hindering stock and broader fisheries analyses by the ICCAT scientific committee.

ICCAT must take action in Croatia to identify those countries that continually fail to comply and to ensure that FAD data reporting requirements are met. ISSF urges managers to also listen to the experts on their scientific committee: immediately adopt the recommended definitions and data reporting formats to improve the implementation of this essential reporting requirement.

As I head off to the ICCAT meeting, I hope you will join our efforts to urge progress on these priorities by advocating for action before and during the upcoming meeting in Croatia. You can do this by meeting with (1) the national delegations that will be tabling proposals and making the decisions at the meeting, (2) vessel and industry representatives that attend as part of these national delegations and who exercise influence over the positions the governments take, and (3) FIPs, tuna processors, retailers, and buyers to encourage them to also advocate for this concrete action at ICCAT.

We will continue to work cooperatively with all ICCAT delegations to achieve positive results for the tunas and ecosystems of the Atlantic Ocean.

ISSF to ICCAT: Rebuild Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna Stocks; Improve FAD Data Reporting; and Strengthen Monitoring, Control and Surveillance

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its position statement in advance of the 21st Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 12-19 November 2018.

“The 2018 assessment of bigeye tuna shows that the stock is overfished and subject to overfishing, and yellowfin may also be subject to overfishing. ICCAT must take urgent action,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson.

“This time last year, ICCAT scientists were reporting that the established catch limits for bigeye and yellowfin had been exceeded in 2016 by 11% and 16%, respectively. Fast-forward to today, and the bigeye catch limit has been exceeded by 20 percent, and the yellowfin catch limit by 17 to 37 percent. The management of these valuable tuna stocks is getting worse, not better. More should have been done last year, and the upcoming meeting in Dubrovnik offers another chance to get it right.”

Here's what we're urging #ICCAT to accomplish for #sustainability -- and why -- at its upcoming meeting. Click To Tweet

ISSF is asking ICCAT to adopt stock-specific management measures in line with the advice of the ICCAT scientific committee, which includes: appropriate and fully-allocated catch levels so that ICCAT member countries can know their individual limits; capacity limits that are commensurate with these allocations; and provisions to ensure catches are in compliance with the limits. ICCAT must also consider alternative means to reduce the mortality of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the purse seine fishery — measures like strengthened FAD management, limitations on the use of supply and support vessels, and expanded time/area closures and effort controls.

Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) Management

On FADs, ISSF asks that ICCAT immediately:

  • Address serious gaps in FAD data reporting
  • Adopt the FAD definitions and data reporting form recommended by the science committee
  • Ensure compliance with the ICCAT requirement for non-entangling FADs
  • Promote research into biodegradable FADs

“FAD sets comprise about 50 percent of tuna catches in the region,” Jackson continued. “For 5 years ICCAT has required the submission of FAD data that is necessary to inform the management of the Atlantic’s tuna fisheries. However, each year — and this year is no exception — only a few parties submit the required data, usually in an incomplete fashion, thus hindering analyses by scientists. ICCAT must take concerted action in Croatia to identify this ongoing non-compliance and take steps to ensure FAD data reporting is being fully complied with.”

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS)

The ICCAT science committee has also noted that the current 5 percent observer coverage requirement for longline vessels is inadequate — because it does not generate reliable estimates of total bycatch. Further, there are data that some longline fleets are not even meeting this 5 percent minimum. Such an absence of information prevents the creation of effective conservation measures for sensitive species caught incidentally in tuna fisheries as well as effective monitoring of compliance on the water.

ISSF’s ICCAT position statement reaffirms its stance that the entire large-scale purse seine vessel fleet should have 100 percent observer coverage on every fishing trip. ICCAT requires 100 percent observer coverage for purse seiners only during the 2-month time/area FAD closure. But ICCAT should follow the advice of the FAD Working Group recommendation to extend the 100% observer coverage on large-scale purse seine vessels to cover the entire year, as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Council (IATTC) and Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have done.

ISSF is also urging ICCAT to implement the science committee recommendation to increase the minimum level of observer coverage to 20% for all other major fishing gears, and strengthen compliance with all required observer coverage levels.

At the same time, ISSF urges ICCAT to advance its development of electronic monitoring and reporting standards as soon as possible so as to ultimately achieve 100 percent observer coverage in the longline fishery, and in the purse seine fishery during the entire year — providing estimates of bycatch and improving the overall monitoring of these fisheries.

Finally, ISSF urges ICCAT to develop new binding measures that will ensure the safety of human observers, including those on carrier vessels, following the leadership of WCPFC and IATTC in adopting such a measure.

Other priority improvements in the ISSF position statement include:

  • Ensure sufficient funding for scientific work so that concurrent management strategy evaluation (MSE) processes can be completed within the planned timetables.
  • Strengthen other monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) measures, such as vessel monitoring systems (VMS), at-sea transshipment regulations, and Port State Measures.
  • Adopt measures to mitigate the incidental catch and maximize the release survival of sharks, mobulid rays, and sea turtles, including best practices for handling and release of such species as have been adopted in other tuna RFMOs.

Read the full position statement in English, French or Spanish on the ISSF website.

NGO and Marine Conservation Science Leaders Receive New Appointments to ISSF Committees

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today that Dr. Tom Pickerell of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is the new Chair of the ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee (ESC) and that Dr. Andrew Rosenberg of the Union of Concerned Scientists joins the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).

Dr. Tom Pickerell of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership @fishsource & Dr. Andrew Rosenberg of @UCSUSA join ISSF committees. Click To Tweet

Dr. Tom Pickerell is the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) Global Tuna Director responsible for SFP’s tuna work program, including the global fresh and frozen tuna supply chain roundtable and canned tuna program. Before joining SFP, he worked for Seafish, where he was the Technical Director. Previous to that role, Dr. Pickerell was the Senior Science Manager for the Seafood Watch program at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Earlier, Dr. Pickerell worked at WWF UK as the Fisheries Policy Officer and at Defra, where he held a variety of different policy and strategy roles in fisheries and aquaculture. He has a degree in Marine Biology, a master’s degree in Analytical Biology and a Ph.D. in shellfish aquaculture. Dr. Pickerell joined the ISSF ESC in July 2018. He replaces Jennifer Dianto-Kemmerly, of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, as Chair.

“Dr. Pickerell’s leadership experience at some of the foremost environmental NGOs has made him an excellent resource for the ESC,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “We are honored and thankful that he and SFP are keen to increase their engagement with ISSF by assuming this leadership role.”

Dr. Andrew Rosenberg is director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dr. Rosenberg’s more than 25 years’ experience in government service and nonprofit leadership includes leadership roles at Conservation International and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Rosenberg was a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Ocean Studies Board and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. He is a professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of New Hampshire, where he previously served as dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and is the author of many peer-reviewed studies and reports on fisheries and ocean management. Dr. Rosenberg received his Ph.D. in biology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and previously studied oceanography at Oregon State University and fisheries biology at the University of Massachusetts.

“Dr. Rosenberg is a force to be reckoned with, and we’re honored to have him join the Scientific Advisory Committee,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “His experience in government and nonprofit leadership, research and academia make him a true triple-threat, with a combination of experience, credibility and expertise.”

Dr. Rosenberg previously served as a member of ISSF’s Environmental Stakeholder Committee.

Committee Experts Advise ISSF Board of Directors

The ISSF Board receives input and information from formal and informal partners — environmental stakeholders, marine scientists, fishers, and vessel owners — who share insights from the field.

The ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) comprises some of the world’s leading marine and tuna fisheries scientists. The SAC guides ISSF’s research priorities and supports its technical reports, notably the annual Status of the Stocks report and online interactive tool. ISSF’s Environmental Stakeholder Committee (ESC) includes representatives from conservation organizations. Members of the SAC and ESC volunteer to share their expertise with ISSF.

Marine Scientists Study Shark and Ray Bycatch, Test Mitigation Measures Aboard Working Tuna Fishing Vessel

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases.

Findings from recent at-sea research in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean on tuna fisheries bycatch and related mitigation measures are the latest addition to ISSF’s updated Compendium of At-Sea Bycatch Mitigation Research Activities.

As the Compendium reports, ISSF’s most recent research cruise aimed to:

  • Conduct tests to estimate the post-release survival of sharks
  • Test the feasibility of having crew members release sharks from the purse-seine net
  • Test the post-release survival of whale sharks and rays
What we studied, what we learned, & why it matters: Our new report documents 7 years of #scientific #research at #sea. Click To Tweet

An international team of marine scientists, Melanie Hutchinson, Ph.D. (Chief Scientist, JIMAR – University of Hawaii), Alfredo Borie (Federal University of Rondônia, Brazil), and Alexander Salgado (AZTI, Spain), spent 26 days on the purse-seine vessel Pacific Star. The cruise took place in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, departing from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on June 25, 2018, and ending July 21, 2018 in Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe.

“This cruise was unique,” Dr. Hutchinson, Chief Scientist on the cruise, noted, “in that we were fishing in very productive waters off Gabon, where several shark species had aggregated to forage on the same small baitfish that the tuna were attracted to. We were catching coastal shark species that are almost never encountered in purse-seine sets in other regions, and we were catching them in free-school sets. 

So while our objective of testing the feasibility of releasing juvenile silky sharks from the net was hard to accomplish because of the focus on free-school fishing in this area, and the presence of large sharks that weren’t biting our baits, we did learn a lot about the region. And we were able to get tags on other incidental species to assess post release survivorship and best handling practices. We always learn a lot on these trips. Regardless of our ability to meet the stated objectives, you never know what is going to happen out there.”

Conclusions from the 2018 Eastern Atlantic Ocean research trip include:

  • Mobulids (rays) release: The release of incidentally caught mobulids from onboard the fishing vessel can result in delayed mortality, even with best practice handling by vessel crew. Alternative mitigation actions, such as avoiding hot spots or release while the net is still open, may be most effective for reducing mortality of mobulid rays incidentally caught in purse-seine fisheries.
  • Whale shark release: When encircled during a fishing set, incidentally caught whale sharks will survive the interaction if the best practice release maneuver is employed.
  • Silky shark release: Silky sharks also survive fisheries interactions if they are removed from a purse-seine net before being brought onboard.
  • Shark removal: While results to date suggest that sharks can be effectively released from the purse-seine net with 100 percent survival by fishing them out with handlines, the technique seems to work effectively only during FAD sets. Finding an effective means of removing sharks from the net on free-school sets remains a challenge. Catching sharks in the net during free-school sets proved impossible during the research cruise.

Very large, active sharks prove especially challenging when it comes to net removal because they’re more likely to be feeding on the tuna and therefore less likely to bite on a handline. Additionally, their size makes them more dangerous for crew members to handle.

“Many of our at-sea bycatch mitigation research activities, like this one, must be conducted in real-world fishing situations,” added Dr. Victor Restrepo, Vice President, Science at ISSF. “Findings from this research — and the resulting best practices that are helping to make fisheries more sustainable  would not be possible without the in-kind contributions from vessel owners that open their operations to independent marine scientists.”

Other at-sea studies new to the Compendium, which was last published in December 2016, include acoustic research in collaboration with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, a fish-tagging cruise in the Central Pacific, and tests of biodegradable twine (in the Maldives) and ropes (in the western Indian Ocean).

About ISSF Bycatch Research and the Compendium

Since 2011, ISSF has led a series of at-sea scientific research cruises and experiments to test methods for reducing bycatch of non-target species in real-world conditions, and, in many cases, during real commercial tuna fishing voyages. This research emphasizes potential mitigation measures especially for tropical tuna purse seiners, which account for 64% of the global tuna catch, to reduce catches of sharks and bigeye tuna.

All fishing methods have some level of environmental impact, which is often measured in terms of fishing mortality of non-target species that may be retained or discarded at sea, as well as target species that may be discarded at sea for a variety of reasons (i.e., too small, damaged, or exceed capacity). Bycatch rates for purse seining on FADs range from 1.75%–8.9% of a vessel’s catch, depending on the ocean region. For purse-seine free-school fishing (without FADs), bycatch rates range from 0.03%–2.8%, also depending on the ocean region.

The Compendium summarizes in chronological order the 20 at-sea research cruises or experiments that ISSF has conducted from 2011-2018. While most of the research has been done onboard tuna purse-seine fishing vessels, other vessel types have been used in some instances. Research activities can be classified in one of four hierarchical stages along a fishing trip:

  1. Passive mitigation
  2. Avoid catching bycatch
  3. Release bycatch from the net
  4. Release bycatch from the deck

For each research activity, a table summarizes the objectives, methods, results and conclusions, and a list details publications — peer reviewed, as well as other literature — derived from that activity. A conclusions section at the end of the Compendium highlights key findings of all activities, with a focus on sharks, bigeye tuna, and turtles.

ISSF shares mitigation tactics discovered on the research cruises, and from other scientific resources, with skippers, fishers, and vessel owners worldwide during its skippers workshops, which are held throughout the year at major ports all over the globe. ISSF also shares findings with the world’s tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).