The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has urged the member nations of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to continue and enforce conservation measures that appear to be allowing eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) bigeye tuna to recover from overfishing.
ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee Chair Dr. Victor Restrepo informed that the most recent assessment of this stock is encouraging and demonstrates that when nations work together to impose scientifically recommended fishing closures it can have a positive impact on stock health.
He also informed that presently the EPO bigeye stock is protected by closures in the purse seine fishery and catch limits in the longline fishery. Members will meet this week and consider the IATTC Scientific Committee’s recommendation that these measures be extended through 2013.
The data and methodology used in the assessment of EPO has been changed and at the same time there have been changes in the Japanese longline fishery. Dr Restrepo told that getting exact stock is not just the appearance of improvement, but nations must stay the course. ISSF also supports the IATTC Scientific Committee’s guidance that the regional fishery management organization reviews its resolution that created a program to monitor at-sea transshipments by large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels to include smaller longliners.
