The April 2025 Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting presents a crucial opportunity for member nations to continue to increase cooperation toward the adoption of science-based tuna conservation measures; improved bycatch mitigation measures; and enhanced monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) mechanisms.
Without the adoption of catch limits and other management measures to ensure stringent adherence to such limits — all of which also demand robust compliance monitoring systems — the health of tuna stocks and the broader marine ecosystem remain at risk.
Science-Based Conservation of Tuna Stocks
Yellowfin tuna, previously overfished in the Indian Ocean, has shown signs of recovery, making continued precautionary management essential. The Commission must implement science-based catch limits that align with its Scientific Committee’s latest assessments and advice.
Moreover, the Scientific Committee should monitor stock status indicators in 2025 to confirm yellowfin’s stock status — based on robust analysis of the main input data used in the assessment (for example, Catch Per Unit Effort or CPUE) — as well as to ensure that yellowfin’s rebuilding trajectory remains intact.
Meanwhile, there are management concerns about skipjack and bigeye tuna stocks. Skipjack catches have consistently exceeded established Harvest Control Rule (HCR) limits, with a record-high catch in 2023. Urgent action is needed to prevent continued overshooting of HCR limits.
Bigeye tuna remains overfished and subject to overfishing, necessitating a 12% reduction in catch to align with sustainable thresholds as advised by the bigeye Management Procedure in February 2025. To facilitate bigeye tuna’s recovery to healthy levels, the IOTC must adopt a revised Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for bigeye and enforce stricter compliance measures to ensure adherence to the TAC.
Strengthening Compliance Through Enhanced Monitoring
Scientific conservation efforts are ineffective without proper monitoring and enforcement. The IOTC must fully implement its revised compliance assessment process to ensure transparent evaluations of member states’ adherence to conservation measures. This includes holding nations accountable for non-compliance in data reporting, adhering to catch limits, and using destructive fishing methods such as large-scale gillnets, prohibited in the entire Indian Ocean since 2022.
To improve fisheries oversight, observer coverage must be expanded beyond the current inadequate minimum 5% requirement. The IOTC lags behind other regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in this regard. Electronic Monitoring (EM) should be widely implemented to supplement human observer programs, and measures should be adopted to begin increasing observer coverage toward 100% in industrial tuna fisheries. IOTC must also join its peer RFMOs and adopt a binding measure that will ensure the safety of human observers, including those on supply and carrier vessels.
Further, stronger tools are needed to deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the Indian Ocean. In particular, the efforts to reform the IOTC’s Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) measure must be accelerated to require near real-time reporting and tamper-proof mechanisms to enhance vessel transparency.
Additionally, IOTC’s Port State measures resolution should be aligned with the FAO Port State Measures Agreement, including prioritizing high-risk vessels for inspections and extending oversight to ports outside the IOTC Agreement Area. These enhancements would strengthen regional efforts to combat IUU and curtail the potential for IUU-caught fish to flow into global markets.
Bycatch Mitigation and Shark Protections
Certain Indian Ocean shark and sea turtle species are in decline due to bycatch and unsustainable fishing practices. The IOTC must strengthen its conservation measures to reduce the impact of tuna fisheries on vulnerable species such as sharks, sea turtles, and marine mammals.
For sharks, the IOTC must take action to mandate that all sharks are landed with fins naturally attached. The IOTC also should require additional measures, such as catch limits for shortfin mako and limits on the use of wire leaders and shark lines, to limit shark mortality. For sea turtles, the Commission should require scientifically proven bycatch mitigation measures and the use of safe release devices.
It also needs to adopt best practices for the safe handling and release of sharks, mobulids, and cetaceans — similar to those implemented by other RFMOs — to help reduce mortality rates of these species.
The Path Forward: A Call for Urgent Action
The upcoming IOTC Annual Meeting is a pivotal moment for member states to reaffirm their commitment to sustainable tuna fisheries management.
Implementing science-based catch limits, enhancing compliance and monitoring, and adopting stronger conservation measures for bycatch species will collectively advance the IOTC’s efforts for the long-term health of tuna stocks and the broader marine ecosystem. The time for decisive action is now. Ensuring that tuna fisheries operate responsibly today will secure their future for generations to come.
