French tuna industry body Orthongel has registered its disappointment at the failure yet again at the 28th ICCAT meeting last week of the Tropical Tuna Sub-Commission was once again unable to agree on a revision of Recommendation 22-02 on the Tropical Tuna Management Plan, which would have involved an increase in the bigeye tuna TAC, an allocation of the swordfish quota and an adjustment to technical measures.
Despite the prospects for progress suggested by the sub-commission’s work in 2023, the contracting parties were unable to reach a consensus between their different approaches. The plenary has adopted a one-year extension of the TAC and other measures (including the
moratorium from January 1 to March 12).
A working group will meet in 2024 to review the management measures and establish an allocation of the bigeye TAC.
‘This is a real disappointment for the French fleet, which had hoped to see the duration of the moratorium reduced to at least 65 days, and to benefit from a reasonable increase in their quota in response to the efforts made in recent years to put the stock back on the road to recovery,’ an Orthongel representative stated, adding that the organisation will be working in 2024 to preserve the interests of the French fleet, while respecting the United Nations’ sustainable development goals – with two objectives.
‘On one hand this is an allocation that takes into account the aspirations of developing countries, and equitably benefits the fleets that participate in the fishery and optimises the use of the TAC,’ Orthongel states.
‘Secondly, this is the adoption of technical measures to achieve precise objectives, informed by science and backed up by control measures to ensure compliance and effectiveness.’
