PACIFIC FISHERIES MANAGERS TAKE CRUCIAL STEP ON ALBACORE

Pacific Fisheries managers take crucial step on albacore. North Pacific albacore will lead the agenda for the August meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) after a successful Northern Committee meeting with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Albacore, sometimes known as “white tuna” in cans on North American supermarket shelves, is fished across the entire north Pacific Ocean.  Albacore fisheries in this region generate more than $225 million per year, and the products developed from the catch are worth nearly three quarters of a billion USD per year at the final point of sale.

Led by the United States, Canada, and Japan, managers made crucial progress, agreeing to terms for a harvest strategy, however work remains to finalise this precautionary management approach. To finalise the process, IATTC must adopt a matching strategy at its annual commission meeting next month to support the long-term sustainability and profitability of the valuable north Pacific albacore stock.

Shana Miller, project director, international fisheries conservation at The Ocean Foundation, who attended the meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, said the following:

“North Pacific albacore supports a nearly billion-dollar fishery to supply both the canned and tuna steak markets. Today’s decision sets the stage to secure long-term sustainability of the population and thus market supply for this consumer favourite.

“It also clears the way for development of a harvest strategy for Pacific bluefin tuna, another commitment from this week’s meeting. While the albacore population is considered healthy, Pacific bluefin are depleted and subject to a recovery plan – harvest strategies are an effective tool for either scenario, able to both maintain or achieve a target population size.

“WCPFC adopted its first ever harvest strategy last year for skipjack. This year, North Pacific albacore could be IATTC’s first and a second for WCPFC. If harvest strategy development continues according to the current workplans, we could go from zero to five harvest strategies in place for Pacific tunas in the next couple of years, revolutionising management of some of the world’s largest and most valuable fisheries.”

Grantly Galland, project director for international fisheries at The Pew Charitable Trusts said the following:

“Today, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Northern Committee took a significant step towards comprehensive, Pacific-wide management for north Pacific albacore tuna. Adopting a science-based harvest strategy that relies on data to automatically set catch limits shows a serious commitment to long-term sustainability.

“Now, because north Pacific albacore is jointly managed with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in the eastern Pacific, success still hinges on agreement by IATTC managers, who meet in August. Without a Pacific-wide harvest strategy, the good work by WCPFC risks being ineffective.

“IATTC is the only tuna regional fisheries management organisation without any harvest strategies currently in place, but now has the opportunity to join WCPFC in modernising the management of north Pacific albacore.”