22 Jan 2007 - Gland, Switzerland – Tuna are fast disappearing,
with important stocks at high risk of commercial extinction
due to weak management, warns a WWF briefing ahead of the
first meeting of government members of the world’s five
tuna management organizations.
Despite efforts by some governments within tuna Regional
Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), populations
of important species such as bluefin tuna are critically
depleted. Atlantic bluefin, used for high-end sushi and
sashimi, is massively overfished and the spawning stock
of Southern bluefin tuna in the Indian Ocean is down about
90 per cent.
RFMOs are the main mechanism developed by countries to
regulate fishing on the high seas — areas beyond national
laws — where most tuna catches occur. WWF’s new briefing,
Tuna in Trouble: Major Problems for the World’s Tuna Fisheries,
reveals rampant illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)
fishing, unsustainable quotas, and far too many boats competing
for the remaining tunas.
“Sustainable management of the world’s tuna fisheries should
be possible, if the will can be found,” says Dr Simon Cripps,
Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme. “But many governments
are routinely ignoring scientific advice, failing to implement
the available conservation and management measures, turning
a blind eye to illegal fishing and not prosecuting those
who flout the rules.”
The capacity of the world’s tuna fleets are now far greater
than required to catch the legal quota. In 2002 in the Eastern
Pacific Ocean, the capacity of purse-seine fleets targeting
bigeye and yellowfin tuna was 70 per cent higher than needed
to catch the quantity advised by scientists.
Disputes about allocation of fishing quotas also tend to
have a paralyzing impact on RFMOs. In a number of cases,
quotas are ignored or simply increased to accommodate new
entrants to the fishery.
Tuna RFMOs have, for the most part, failed to minimize
the massive incidental catch, known as bycatch, of sharks,
marine turtles, seabirds, small whales and dolphins. In
2000, tuna long-line fisheries deployed an estimated 1.2
billion hooks targeting tuna but killing a range of other
species.
WWF applauds the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission’s
(IATTC) efforts to reduce the bycatch of marine turtles
by encouraging the use of circle hooks. Initial results
indicate they can reduce the number of turtles killed in
long-line fishing operations by as much as 90 per cent.
“Solutions have been developed by a few RFMOs, resulting
in a more sustainable approach,” adds Cripps.
“The talks in Japan provide an opportunity for all interested
nations to adopt approaches that ensure good practices to
protect tuna, other marine life and the wellbeing of coastal
communities.”
END NOTES:
• Japan will host a joint meeting of tuna RFMOs from 22–26
January, 2007 at the International Conference Centre in
Kobe, Japan. Secretariats of all the tuna RFMOs are invited
to participate in the meeting.
• Governance of the world’s oceans is characterised by
a patchwork of organizations tasked with the conservation
and management of living marine resources. Formal cooperation
between states through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
(RFMOs) dates back to at least the 1920s. There are now
16 RFMOs with a mandate to establish binding management
measures for fisheries resources. Five tuna RFMOs were established
with the aim to conserve and sustainable manage tuna stocks
in different oceans. These are the: International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT); Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC); Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
(IOTC); Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
(WCPFC); and CCSBT Commission for the Conservation of Southern
Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).
Moira O’Brien-Malone, Press Office
WWF International
Sarah Bladen, Communications Manager
WWF Global Marine Programme
