The Sixth Joint Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Northern Committee Working Group Meeting on Pacific Bluefin Tuna Management has partially approved a Japanese proposal to increase the total allowable catch for the species.
The committee is one of the working groups of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which manages the world’s largest source of Pacific bluefin tuna. The IATTC manages tuna in the eastern Pacific. Meetings were held online from Tuesday, 27 July to Thursday, 29 July. The proposal was approved on the first day of the meetings.
Japan has proposed increases in the quota of Pacific bluefin tuna for both adults and juveniles (under 30 kilograms) for four years running, citing a recovery trend in the stock of adult fish with spawning ability, called “spawning stock biomass." However, the U.S. had blocked the increases at the Northern Committee meetings. Under the WCPFC rules, consensus is required to increase the quota.
This year, Japan proposed a 20 percent increase for both adults and juveniles.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, which holds observer status at the meeting, submitted a paper opposing Japan’s proposal.
“Japan’s proposal to increase catch limits by 20 percent relies on a highly uncertain assumption that recruitment will be greater in the future than it has been,” Pew said in the paper.
However, scientific committee projections based on current management and low recruitment indicated a 100 percent chance of reaching the initial stock rebuilding target by 2024.
“Increased catches based on the scenarios analyzed are possible under the harvest strategy prepared by the joint tuna RFMOs Working Group. The choice of catch scenario should take into account the desired rebuilding rate and the distribution of catch between small and large bluefin,” it said in its own report.
The scientific committee recommended a 15 percent increase in the catch limit for adults and no change for juveniles. If approved at the general committee meeting, Japan's catch quota would increase by 732 tons.
The WCPFC members are Australia, Canada, China, Cook Islands, European Union, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Korea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Taiwan, Tuvalu, the U.S., and Vanuatu. The Northern Committee makes recommendations to the WCPFC on species that are mostly found in the convention area north of 20 degrees north, and participation in the Northern Committee is limited to those members that are located in the area north of 20 degrees north, or are fishing in the area.
IATTC members include Belize, Canada, China, Taiwan, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, the EU, France, Guatemala, Kiribati, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, South Korea, the U.S., Vanuatu, and Venezuela.
Photo courtesy of aes256/WikiMedia Commons
