tel. 902.429.2202 fax. 902.405.3716 2705 Fern Lane, Halifax, NS, B3K 4L3 Recommendations to the 25 th Regular Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 14-22 November, 2017 in Marrakesh, Morocco The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) is pleased to be participating once again as the only Canadian civil society group to attend ICCAT. The EAC has worked proactively at Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and the United Nations General Assembly for many years, lending expertise in fisheries science and experience working with sustainable fishing industries. At ICCAT, we work to support sustainable fisheries and continued progress towards ecosystem-based and precautionary management measures. The EAC calls on ICCAT parties to take the following actions at the 25 th Regular Meeting: Set precautionary, science-based quotas for western Atlantic bluefin tuna that will allow the stock to continue to grow, in line with ICCAT s rebuilding plan. According to the SCRS advice, this would mean a quota of 1,000 metric tonnes or less. Set precautionary, science based quotas for eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna that will allow the stock to continue to grow, which is no more than 28,000 metric tonnes according to the science advice. Adopt a harvest strategy for northern albacore and continue to advance harvest strategies for priority stocks to improve and modernize stock management. Amend the existing bigeye catch limit to a level that will have a high probability of rebuilding the stock. Adopt measures for the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) that minimize the impact of FAD fisheries on ocean ecosystems. Secure an immediate prohibition on fishing for Northern and Southern shortfin mako sharks as an immediate step to stop overfishing and begin a 20 or more-year recovery. Support a proposed fins naturally attached regulation this year to strengthen the existing shark finning ban and improve enforcement and species-specific data collection. Reduce the quota for Northern Atlantic swordfish to 13,200 tonnes in line with the scientific advice. Amend the ICCAT Convention text to contain modern best practices including those that will require ICCAT to incorporate the precautionary approach and ecosystem-based management into decision making and expand the list of species covered explicitly by the Convention to include sharks.
Set precautionary, science based quotas for bluefin tunas that will allow the stocks to continue to grow Western Atlantic Bluefin tuna There continue to be positive signs of growth in recent years in the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock, with a strong 2003 year class and recent reduction in fishing mortality contributing to this increase. However, they are other worrying trends as well. The SCRS estimates that the stock is still at between 45 and 69% of already depleted 1974 levels. The 2003-year class is past its peak biomass, recruitment has been declining for a number of years and there are no signs of a strong year class coming into the fishery. While the SCRS advice states that the quota could be raised to 2500 tonnes this year, this level would also lead to stock declines. In order to allow the stock to continue to grow, in line with ICCAT s 20-year rebuilding plan to which there is only 1 year remaining, the SCRS states that quotas would have to be at 1000 tonnes or less. The Ecology Action Centre urges ICCAT take a precautionary approach for Western Atlantic bluefin tuna and set a quota that will allow the stock to continue to rebuild. Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Bluefin tuna The Eastern Atlantic stock has also been showing positive signs of improvement demonstrating that science-based management is working. However, the stock is still overfished in one of the three recruitment scenarios used, suggesting that precaution is still warranted. The SCRS has cautioned that the 2017 results have proved highly sensitive to model assumptions and data inputs, which means they could potentially overestimate abundance. In order to allow the stock to continue to grow with a higher than 50% probability, ICCAT should set the TAC at 28,000 t or less for the Eastern stock. Adopt a harvest strategy for northern albacore and continue to advance harvest strategies for priority stocks to improve and modernize stock management. ICCAT continues to move forward on fulfilling the commitments laid out in Recommendations 15-04 and 15-07. However, more work is needed in a timely fashion to ensure that robust harvest strategies can be adopted for priority stocks. Establishing harvest control rules for priority species informed by Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) can offer particular advantages over the traditional approach to fisheries management. Under the MSE approach, management objectives are determined at the outset, when the priority can be placed on objectives such as stability, abundance and yield. Scientists, managers and stakeholders work together throughout the process. At the Standing Working Group to Enhance Dialogue between Scientists and Managers (SWGSM) in June 2017, ICCAT parties developed guidance on selection of a final harvest control rule (HCR) for northern albacore. The process was further advanced in October, when the SCRS endorsed the management strategy evaluation (MSE) results for northern albacore as sufficiently robust and supported adoption of an interim HCR this year, contingent on a formal review of the MSE taking place after HCR adoption. We urge ICCAT parties to adopt an interim harvest strategy for northern albacore, including an HCR, through the process laid out by the SCRS, to ensure that ICCAT stays on track with agreed timelines.
Amend the existing bigeye catch limit to a level that will have a high probability of rebuilding the stock. Recommendation 15-01 (and readopted as 16-01) adopted for bigeye tuna allows only a 49% chance of stock rebuilding, which is counter to ICCAT objectives and worrying for a stock that is both overfished and experience overfishing. The 2016 ICCAT performance review noted with concern that the measures taken on bigeye to date have been insufficient. Furthermore, ICCAT parties exceeded the quota in 2016 by over 7,000 tonnes, further jeopardizing recovery. As recommendation 16-01 states that ICCAT parties shall re-open the measure if the 65,000 tonnes is exceeded, we recommend that ICCAT take the following actions to improve the measure this year: Adopt a TAC that will achieve rebuilding with high probability (i.e. at least 70 percent) by 2024 and remove the provision for rollover of quota underage by major harvesters and reduce the minor harvester allowances to help ensure that this new TAC is not exceeded. Adopt measures for the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) that minimize the impact of FAD fisheries on ocean ecosystems. Concerns have been raised by scientists and conservationists for years about the impact of juvenile tuna catch and other bycatch associated with FAD use. In ICCAT fisheries, at least two tropical tuna stocks, bigeye and yellowfin, as well as several species of sharks, have been showing decline in recent years. To address on-going concerns with FAD use, ICCAT tasked the FAD working group to directly address juvenile tuna mortality resulting from FAD use. Consistent with recommendations from ICCAT s working group as well as two other global FAD meetings that occurred this year, we recommend that the Commission adopt a suite of FAD management objectives and a corresponding timeline for achieving those objectives. In addition, ICCAT should immediately require the SCRS to provide advice on the number of FAD sets and the total number of FADs that should be allowed in the Convention Area to achieve these management objectives and help end overfishing of bigeye and the impacts on other species as quickly as possible. Secure an immediate prohibition on retention for both the Northern and Southern shortfin mako shark population Shortfin makos are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing and yet no catch limits have been set by ICCAT or the countries with the highest catches. Scientists previous advice to cap or reduce mako fishing mortality have been met with inadequate response. Based on a new population assessment, ICCAT scientists have determined that overfishing is occurring on an overfished population. Furthermore, declines will continue to occur under current catch levels and catch must be but to zero to rebuild stocks over two decades. The SCRS advices that a complete ban on retention is the most effective, immediate conservation measure. To begin the process of rebuilding Northern shortfin mako, the Commission must enact a ban on retention to ensure overfishing stops and (at least a 50% probability of) rebuilding by 2040. Furthermore, given the uncertainty of the Southern shortfin stock status and need for swift action to rebuild the severely depleted Northern shortfin, it is imperative that all precaution is taken to ensure there is no overfishing, consistent compliance across the Atlantic stocks, supported by full reporting of
all discards. Therefore, we urge the commission to also prohibit the retention of Southern mako sharks. Improve the existing finning ban by moving to a fins naturally attached rule ICCAT was the first RFMO to ban shark finning, but loopholes exist within the current 5% ratio rule, which means illegal shark fins are still being landed and there remains uncertainty in the landings data. Fin-to-body ratios have been widely criticized as being difficult to enforce and as creating significant issues for accurate data collection. Ratio policies allow room for high grading, and species identification is often heavily reliant on a shark s fins if they are removed from the body there can be less confidence that the species is being identified and recorded properly. In addition, the 5% rule can be interpreted differently from place to place, and not all sharks proportions fit perfectly within the 5%, meaning that additional, illegal fins can be landed and still be within the allotted ratio. Requiring sharks to be landed with fins attached at the first point of landing is the most straightforward and simple way of enforcing the finning ban and will greatly improve species-specific data collection for sharks. The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) have already adopted such a rule. At ICCAT, support for a fins-naturallyattached rule has been growing each year, with an increasing number of co-sponsors. The EAC urges the Commission to support a proposed fins naturally attached regulation this year to strengthen the safeguard for sharks. Reduce the quota for North Atlantic swordfish in line with the scientific advice While the results from the previous assessment on North Atlantic swordfish conducted in 2013 indicated that there was a 90% probability that the northern swordfish stock had rebuilt to or above BMSY, with the new estimates of biomass and lower productivity, the stock status now shows only a 61% probability of being above BMSY. The SCRS notes that the current TAC of 13,700 tonnes only has a 36% probability of maintaining the North Atlantic swordfish stock in the green quadrant of the Kobe plot by 2028. A TAC of 13,200 t however would give a 50% chance of the the biomass being above BMSY consistent with Rec. 16-03. We therefore urge ICCAT to reduce the North Atlantic swordfish quota to 13,200 tonnes, in line with SCRS advice. Amend the ICCAT Convention text to include current best practices The EAC applauds the efforts so far to modernize the ICCAT Convention text, however it is due time for ICCAT to advance discussions and move to formally amend the Convention. As part of this process, we urge members to expand the list of species covered explicitly by the Convention. Specifically, all shark species listed in Article 64 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Annex 1) should be officially managed by ICCAT. In addition, the EAC requests that the Commission integrate the precautionary approach and ecosystem-based management, as outlined by the Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, when amending the Convention text. Furthermore, the amended Commission Convention should provide the Commission with the authority to make recommendations aimed at maintaining or restoring the abundance of ICCAT species above levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield.
For more information, please contact: Katie Schleit Senior Marine Campaign Coordinator kschleit@ +1-902-488-4078 Shannon Arnold Marine Policy Coordinator sarnold@ +1-902-446-4840 Heather Grant Marine Communications Campaigner heatherg@ +1-902-446-4840