IATTC is getting ready for the 90th meeting of the Commission. Our coalition has a list of things

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) is getting ready to meet for the 90th meeting of the Commission from­­­­­­­­­­­­ June 21 – July 1, 2016 in La Jolla, California and our coalition has a list of things we would like to see member nations accomplish. You can learn about the most pressing issues related to the meeting. It can help educate on the challenges and opportunities facing our global tuna resources and the greater marine ecosystem.

GLOBAL ISSUES

Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) and Reference Points.  HCRs are a set of well-defined management actions to be taken in response to changes in stock status with respect to target and limit reference points. Unless there is a pre-agreed upon action plan for avoiding overfishing or for rebuilding an overfished stock, long negotiations lead to delayed action or inaction.  The adoption of HCRs is a key aspect of modern fisheries management, and is also a requirement of several eco-label certification programs.

In 2016, the Staff is recommending a more complete HCR for tropical tunas that uses a limit reference point in addition to a target reference point. At this year’s meeting, ISSF Urges the Commission to adopt the interim HCR recommended by the Staff and to require that it be tested for robustness to the main uncertainties in the assessment, such as the stock-recruitment relationship.

2016 To-Do List – We have our sights set high

Each tuna RFMO also finishes out the year with some lumps of coal in their stockings. A number of important management measures did not progress in 2015, and so they’ll remain on our priority list into 2016. Here are the areas we’re pushing for action on in 2016, RFMO by RFMO:

In IOTC: Requiring fishing gears other than purse seine vessels to retain their tuna catches; requiring 100% observer coverage year round for large-scale purse seine vessels; adopting a best practice regional VMS program; prohibiting the catch and retention of vulnerable hammerhead and silky sharks; and ensuring that longline fleets meet the IOTC mandated level of observer coverage.

In ICCAT: Requiring 100% observer coverage year round for large-scale purse seine vessels and full retention of all tuna catches; prohibiting intentional purse seine sets on whale sharks; further reforming its VMS program; assessing key shark species so that catch or effort limits, reference points and HCRs can be established for them; and ensuring that longline fleets meet the ICCAT mandated level of observer coverage.

In IATTC: Effective capacity management by reducing the number of vessels authorized to fish for tuna in the eastern Pacific, as the current capacity exceeds the target level; the adoption of a more complete HCR that takes the limit reference points into account; enhancing the transparency of its compliance process; further reforming its VMS program; and ensuring that longline fleets meet the IATTC mandated level of observer coverage.

In WCPFC: Ending overfishing of bigeye tuna by reducing fishing mortality via the adoption of a simple and enforceable CMM with no exemptions or optional clauses; increasing the transparency of chartering and joint venture arrangements; addressing implementation issues in the transshipment measure; increasing the transparency of the Compliance Monitoring Scheme by allowing accredited observers access to the working group meetings and making member plans for addressing identified non-compliance public; and ensuring that longline fleets meet the WCPFC mandated level of observer coverage and data reporting obligations.

Globally speaking, we will continue to focus on science-based and enforceable tuna conservation measures; FAD management and the use of non-entangling FAD designs; fishing capacity management; the development of graduated responses to non-compliance and transparency in RFMO compliance processes; bringing RFMO programs – such as observer and VMS — up to best practice; strengthening RFMO IUU Vessel List processes, and science-based bycatch mitigation and shark management.