WWF is warning that Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna stocks may collapse without better regulation.
The warning comes in advance of the annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the organisation responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other marine resources in the Indian Ocean. The IOTC, which meets May 23-27 on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, has yet to set catch limits on any tuna species.
Dr Wetjens Dimmlich, WWF Indian Ocean tuna program manager said, “We urge the Commission to meet the IOTC Scientific Committee’s recommendation to reduce catches of yellowfin tuna by 20%. Member states must immediately adopt measures to start rebuilding the depleted stocks of yellowfin tuna.”
The status of yellowfin tuna has changed from ‘green’ to ‘red’ according to the latest stock assessment conducted by the IOTC and published in 2015. The IOTC Scientific Committee warned of a possible stock collapse within just five years if fishing continues at recent high levels.
“Well-managed fisheries, such as North Sea herring have well-defined harvest control rules in place,” said Dr Dimmlich. “These trigger immediate response to signs of change in stocks and prevent the need for drastic measures after the damage has already been done. The lack of these control rules in this region has contributed to the current plight of yellowfin tuna”
The seafood industry and communities that rely on a healthy yellowfin stock are highly concerned by the IOTC scientist’s predictions of a possible stock collapse in the near future, which would place their livelihoods under threat. Thirty-eight key international businesses, from tuna companies to supermarkets, are joining with WWF to call for better regulation of tuna fishing within the Indian Ocean, demanding reductions in catches of yellowfin tuna and the introduction of harvest control rules to prevent this happening again to this and other tuna species.
