UK retailers and well-known tuna brands are urging fishing nations to strengthen the management of the world’s largest tuna fishery when the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meets next month in Indonesia.
Retailers such as, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose, together with the tuna brands Fish4Ever and Fish Tales want new conservation and management measures to be adopted which will strengthen the framework for sustainable tuna fisheries.
Charles Redfern, founder of Fish4Ever, said: “Sustainability in seafood is a complex and multi-topic issue. It goes well beyond ensuring stocks are decently managed and exploited, which of course is important.
“Pole-and-line fishing helps maintain healthy fish stocks by being very selective, but it also keeps the right sort of jobs in larger numbers at sea. It is more participatory, democratic and could be an excellent tool for protecting and developing coastal communities worldwide. For us, pole-and-line tuna isn’t an option amongst many; it is the only correct choice,” he added.
The WCPFC Convention is an international fisheries agreement that seeks to address problems in the management of high seas fisheries, such as unregulated fishing and excessive fleet capacity.
Governments have been accused of providing insufficient support to help ensure the sustainability of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, this has resulted in bigeye tuna populations decreasing to 16% of un-fished levels.
The International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNFL), a charity aimed at promoting tuna fisheries with minimal environmental impact and improving livelihoods in the coastal communities is backing the urge for strengthening the sustainable tuna fisheries.
“The UK is a world leader when it comes to sourcing sustainable tuna. Working with retailers and brands that actively seek out the greenest and cleanest tuna can have real impacts on the water and be of significant benefit to the fishing communities themselves,” said Adam Baske, policy and advocacy adviser at IPNLF.
He concluded: “We are hoping these further calls of support will lead to tangible management improvements at this year’s WCPFC meeting. More sustainable management frameworks will benefit every country involved in this huge fishery, bring long-term returns to fishing communities, and minimise the risk of future fisheries collapse.”
