11/10/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/10/2021 07:34
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has published its position statement in advance of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) annual meeting from November 15-22, 2021. ISSF is advocating for updated protections for bigeye and yellowfin tunastocks, upgraded policies related to the use of biodegradable fish aggregating devices (FADs), the adoption of harvest strategies, and more.
"There are several issues that require the immediate attention of the Commission when they assemble, and we urge all parties to reach consensus around these pressing matters in order to improve the management and monitoring of Atlantic tunas," said ISSF President Susan Jackson. "Atlantic bigeye and yellowfin stocks have recently improved to sustainable levels, but if catches of these species continue to exceed the total allowable catch, that won't be the case for long."
ISSF Top Priorities for ICCAT
Jackson added, "ICCAT must take action now to maintain sustainable levels for those two important stocks. But it also has other urgent work to do like the adoption of a work plan for biodegradable FADs, accelerating the adoption of electronic monitoring and requiring one hundred-percent observer coverage and speeding up its development of harvest strategies."
Read the full ICCAT Position Statement on the new ISSF website; the statement is also available in French and Spanish. ICCAT's meeting will be conducted virtually.
ISSF Global Priorities for Tuna RFMOs
ISSF is committed to advocating for science-based approaches, policies and conservation measures to advance tuna fisheries sustainability. Here are ISSF's Global Priorities for four Tuna RFMOs - the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC):