Albacore :: Mediterranean Sea
| Ratings for Mediterranean albacore tuna | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stock abundance |  |
Unknown. Monitoring of basic fishery statistics is extremely poor and has made it impossible to estimate abundance in the stock assessment. |
| Fishing mortality |  |
F≤FMSY. While the F level could be rated Green, there is so much uncertainty in the assessment results that a Yellow rating is given on a precautionary basis. |
| Environment (Bycatch) | |
51% of the catch is officially reported as made by longlining. Several mitigation measures are in place (sharks, turtles). Monitoring is very deficient. |
|
48% of the catch is made by other surface gears, including gillnets. Monitoring is very deficient. | |
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There are three stocks of albacore tuna in the ICCAT Area: North Atlantic, South Atlantic and Mediter- ranean. Albacore catches in the Mediterranean in 2011 were about 4,700 tonnes, a 119% increase from 2010. Catches are highly variable and are made primarily by longline (51%) and the remainder by other surface gears.
STOCK ASSESSMENT
The Mediterranean albacore stock was assessed for the first time in 2011. The data sets used are ex- tremely sparse and indices of abundance are generally lacking. In addition, there is considerable uncer- tainty with reported catches.The SCRS concluded that:
- The ratio of Fcurrent/FMSY in 2010 is less than or equal to 1.Therefore, overfishing is probably not occurring.
- The ratio of Bcurrent/BMSY cannot be estimated with the available data.Therefore it is not known if the stock is overfished.
- The level of MSY cannot be estimated with the available data.
MANAGEMENT
Limit reference point: Not defined.
Target reference point: Not defined. “Green” quadrant in Kobe plot implied as target (Rec. 11-13)
Harvest control rule: Not defined, but Rec. 11-13 provides a framework.
There are no conservation and management measures for Mediterranean albacore.The 2011 SCRS rec- ommended that the Commission adopt measures designed to limit increases in catch and fishing effort directed at Mediterranean albacore. However, the 2011 and 2012 Commission meetings did not adopt any conservation measures for the stock.
| QUANTITY | ESTIMATE | YEARS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most recent catch (t) | 5 | 2011 | |
| Five-year average catch (t) | 4 | 2006-2010 | |
| MSY (t) | N/A | ||
| F/FMSY | ≤ 1 | 2009 | |
| B/BMSY | N/A | ||
| Catch at FMSY (t) | N/A | ||
| TAC (t) | None |
Catches and MSY are in thousand tonnes.
