Purse seine tuna fishers around the world are getting a real-time update on best practices to avoid bycatch thanks to a series of workshops facilitated by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).
The science-based tuna conservation coalition held its latest round of seminars in support of fleets flagged to Southeast Asian and South American countries.
Jefferson Murua, a scientific marine researcher from Spain’s AZTI-Tecnalia, and David Itano, from the University of Hawaii, began a month-long tour of outreach in General Santos City, Philippines earlier this month. They met with 26 purse seine skippers before leaving for the Indonesian cities of Bitung and Jakarta for additional workshops. Next week, Mr Murua will meet with fishers in Manta, Ecuador, where a high turnout is also expected.
“Learning from the Filipino and Indonesian captains how their fishery operates is essential to design the best bycatch solutions for their region. For example these two fleets are unique because they fish exclusively on payaos (anchored FADs) with no netting, instead using attractors such as coconut leaves and light sources to lure tuna.” said Mr Murua. “Both captains and fisheries officials welcomed the skippers’ workshops and encouraged future collaborations with ISSF to build on purse seine sustainable practices.”
The workshops focus primarily on bycatch mitigation techniques that protect marine turtles, sharks, small tuna and other fish. Sessions are designed to operate dynamically, with a two-way conversation between the fishery and bycatch scientists holding the sessions, and the skippers and fishermen in attendance who have experience fishing around FADs. New practices and techniques discovered during at-sea research are continuously incorporated into the workshop material.
