(seafood.com) The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), in anticipation of the 16th Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to be held this April in Fremantle, Australia, is calling for member nations to take a more aggressive approach in efforts to implement conservation management measures that protect tuna stocks and the region's greater marine environment.
Based on the most recent scientific analysis and stock assessments, ISSF has determined several key policy areas must be addressed during the meeting in Australia.
In an effort to limit catches of Indian Ocean albacore tuna, which continues to experience overfishing, ISSF is urging member nations to keep the total catch at or below the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level of 30,000 tonnes. Additionally, ISSF supports the IOTC Scientific Committee's catch recommendations for bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack taken in the region.
ISSF's position statement also encourages the implementation of stock-specific reference points and harvest control rules, both for the future of tuna stocks as well as to help maintain satisfactory governance scores from certification schemes to encourage economic development in the region.
In an effort to promote enhanced shark conservation measures and given the lack of data on sharks in the Indian Ocean, ISSF encourages Cooperating non-Contracting Parties (CPCs) to comply with their reporting requirement on sharks and to limit fishing mortality on sharks and mandate that fins remain naturally attached to any sharks retained onboard.
Other recommendations include requesting that the IOTC sharpen its definition of large-scale tuna longline vessels (LSTLVs) in order to better enforce Resolution 11-05, which limits the occurrence of at-sea transshipments for LSTLVs and requires reporting of transshipments in port. Improved data reporting and collection is also highlighted in the position statement because of a concern with the inconsistency of current data reporting in the region.