The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) Commission said it did not support an increase in the total allowable catch (TAC) increase of yellowfin tuna proposed at a recent meeting.
The proposal, from the Tropical Tuna Management Advisory Committee (TTMAC), would have hiked the total allowable catch (TAC) over-catch allowance, enabling commercial fishermen to bring in yellowfin tuna above the current limits during the remainder of the 2016-17 season.
In addition, the commission agreed that the next Southern bluefin tuna fishing season would run from 1 December, 2016, through 30 November, 2017. The commission also agreed to continue the use of the 100-fish, sample-based transfer-weighing procedure to estimate the transfer weight of Southern bluefin tuna.
Meanwhile, the commission agreed to set the total allowable effort for the southern squid jig fishery 2017 fishing season, including an allowance for research effort.
