The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) recently wrapped its annual meeting in Fiji. With the majority of the world’s tuna catch sourced from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), the WCPFC gathering is highly anticipated and closely watched.
This year’s meeting concluded with several positive results for Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries, including for electronic monitoring (EM) and management procedures. ISSF urged action on these priority topics, among others. Here is a review of the outcomes of the WCPFC meeting against our organization’s most critical asks.
WCPFC adopted interim minimum standards for electronic monitoring in WCPO tuna fisheries.
Comprehensive observer coverage and the implementation of an EM program are critical to effective fisheries management, compliance monitoring, and independent verification of catch, effort, and marine species interactions.
WCPFC requires only purse seine vessels to have 100% observer coverage, while, in contrast, longline vessels are to achieve just a 5 percent minimum level of observer coverage. ISSF has been calling for accelerated progress on electronic monitoring (EM) standards for WCPO tuna fisheries, as well as a plan to substantially increase independent monitoring in longline fisheries. We are therefore gratified that the Commission responded by adopting interim EM minimum standards this year.
By taking action to adopt EM standards, WCPFC is finally poised to remedy the longstanding subpar observer coverage on longline vessels. And importantly, with this move, WCPFC joins its peer tuna RFMOs in other ocean regions, helping to ensure more complete data and to account for the many vessels that move among RFMO areas.
Independent and complete data on at-sea transshipment — a key step in the seafood supply chain — is also important to fisheries managers. When it is not well-managed, at-sea transshipment can be a conduit for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fish to enter the market. The WCPFC measure on transshipment is insufficient and not aligned with best practice requirements. Unfortunately, the Commission failed to reach consensus on this matter and missed an opportunity to improve at-sea transshipment regulations, agreeing only to more work in 2025 instead.
The Commission advanced tuna conservation and management measures through continued development of management procedures.
Management procedures (MP), or harvest strategies, are precautionary science-based rules designed to meet management objectives set by fisheries managers, such as maintaining stocks at healthy levels over the long term with a high degree of certainty. Well-designed harvest strategies create more predictable and stable outcomes.
We are pleased that WCPFC took the opportunity this year to build on recent successes in this area — taking science-based management action to maintain WCPO tuna stocks at healthy levels of abundance.
Specifically, the Commission agreed to candidate target reference points (TRPs), an important technical component of management procedures, for bigeye tuna. In addition, WCPFC adopted a monitoring strategy for skipjack tuna and updated its harvest strategies work plan, reflecting the latest information and advice from its Scientific Committee.
One miss in this area was the lack of agreement on an interim MP for South Pacific albacore tuna. We urged WCPFC to cooperate with IATTC, its peer RFMO in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, to ensure that South Pacific albacore is managed consistently throughout its range. Despite its misstep, the Commission did agree on a process to develop and implement an MP for this stock in 2025, to include a dedicated management workshop.
WCPFC becomes the first tuna RFMO to address crew labor standards.
ISSF recognizes the agreement on a measure for crew labor standards as an especially notable outcome of this year’s WCPFC meeting. The measure establishes rules to improve crew welfare on vessels operating in the WCPO to be implemented within the next three years. WCPFC is the first tuna RFMO to address this subject directly and sets an example for other RFMOs to recognize and address this important topic.
WCPFC members took good advantage of the opportunities at their annual meeting to continue improving the management of their valuable fisheries. Overall, the WCPFC meeting provided solid results for sustainable tuna management. We look forward to our continued engagement throughout the region toward the sustainable use of the world’s largest tuna fisheries and protections for the broader marine ecosystem.
