The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its annual report - Driving Change through Collaboration – outlining the progress and achievements for tuna sustainability in 2014.
It also lays out the various needs for continuous improvement of global tuna fisheries.
“Important steps were taken in 2014 to help ensure the longevity of tuna stocks and the greater marine ecosystem, but we also saw inaction in some fisheries that could have distressing impacts on stocks down the road”, said ISSF President Susan Jackson.
“In order for ISSF to continue to work towards its mission and encourage better management, we’ll need to continue to collaborate with stakeholders and governing bodies to get things done from a policy perspective and to move forward on market incentives, strengthened compliance and monitoring and data collection tools – in addition to other efforts capable of changing the status quo.”
IUU fishing
Effectively monitoring the activities of individual boats that are constantly on the move is a challenging task, as is effectively monitoring the flow of tuna products through the supply chain. The increased use of unique vessel identifying numbers (UVI) are key to identifying and tracking vessels, as a first step.
The report highlights that two RFMOs – IATTC and ICCAT – have adopted reforms to improve their Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) measures, an important step in ensuring compliance.
Collaborative work of public-private partnerships is having also an impact. At the end of 2011, only 12% of large-scale purse seine vessels targeting tropical tuna had IMO numbers. Today, nearly 90% have registered IMO numbers and all four of the tuna management bodies now mandate these numbers.
Status of the stocks
The primary objective of ISSF is to improve the sustainability of global tuna stocks by developing and implementing verifiable, science-based practices, commitments and international management measures that result in all tuna fisheries meeting the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification standard without conditions, if they choose to seek certification.
The report has found that stock health is generally favourable, but it says that all RFMOs must adopt clear Harvest Control Rules (HCRs), to be executed quickly when a specific stock hits its pre-defined point of vulnerability so that the stock(s) may recover.
In numbers:
- 52% of stocks globally are at a healthy level of abundance
- 9% of stocks globally need stronger management to end overfishing
- 86% of tuna catch (by tonnage) comes from healthy stocks
- 3% of tuna catch (by tonnage) is from stocks where fishing is not well managed
ISSF says that the stock to watch is the Western and Central Pacific bigeye, which has been depleted by 84% from its unfished level. ISSF says that the stock’s abundance could be helped tremendously by reducing catches substantially.
Gear and bycatch
In 2014, ISSF sponsored two research cruises that brought together scientists and fishers to work on a number of important issues and potential improvements. Also in 2014, the total number of participants attending ISSF’s Skippers Workshops climbed to more than 1,000 individuals.
Nearly all RFMOs now require submission of Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) data; and ICCAT has joined IOTC in adopting a mandate to use non-entangling FADs by a specific date.
IOTC, ICCAT and WCPFC also created FAD working groups to explore opportunities for improved data collection and new technology development, as well as to consider options for better monitoring, tracking and management.
Capacity
To help address the issue of too many boats, with too much fishing capacity, ISSF participating companies passed an amendment to its previous capacity resolution that includes new, stronger provisions for controlling the addition of large-scale purse seine vessels to the ISSF Record. Additionally, the new resolution explicitly states that any purse seine vessel that does not meet the requirements of the ISSF capacity resolution is not eligible for listing on the ISSF Proactive Vessel Register (PVR).
ISSF has held a series of global workshops with industry experts, fishery managers, policymakers and developing coastal States. In 2014, ISSF held another meeting focused on how to balance the need to reduce fishing capacity and provide avenues for the legitimate development aspirations of developing coastal States through such mechanisms as capacity transfers.
Data collection
The report says that RFMOs, member countries, fisheries and fishing vessels must take concrete steps to improve the timely and more complete collection of, and access to, fishing data.
ISSF and others are working with scientists, fishery managers and vessel owners to determine the most efficient ways to transmit data to RFMOs faster and more completely.
ISSF also participates in a public-private partnership to conduct multiple trials of electronic logbooks for vessel skippers and observers that can transmit data to RFMOs in near-real time.
“From the very beginning, our Foundation has been dedicated to breaking down the walls between government, industry, scientists, RFMO’s, markets and so on. By collaborating with NGOs, scientists and industry to form one group, we are truly able to put ‘multi-stakeholder collaboration’ at the heart of everything that we do,” said ISSF president Susan Jackson.
“What gives me the most hope for the future of our global tuna stocks is the increase of cooperation among groups,” said ISSF Board of Directors Vice Chair Bill Fox, Vice President, Fisheries, WWF-US. “Everyone sitting around the ‘tuna sustainability’ table is beginning to recognise each individual’s unique tools and capabilities, allowing for true scientific and strategic collaboration. Ending IUU, for example, is certainly not going to happen overnight, but when we focus on the strengths of each group, we are able to push forward with an end goal in mind.”
The full report can be found on the ISSF website.
