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What Do Changes to Tuna Ratings on the IUCN List Really Indicate?

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

News of Improved Ratings for Some Tuna Stocks Offers an Opportune Moment to Consider the Metrics that Support Fisheries Management

In the days since the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released its updated Red List of Threatened Species™, many colleagues have contacted ISSF to celebrate IUCN’s news that four tuna species were no longer classified as endangered (see details below).

IUCN attributed the progress to countries enforcing sustainable fishing quotas and successfully combating illegal fishing, which are essential for protecting in-demand fish stocks and the marine ecosystem. In noting any improvements in tuna stock health, sustainable fishing stakeholders also should acknowledge tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) successes in implementing needed fisheries management measures.

As a coauthor of the tuna portion of the IUCN assessment updates, I welcome attention to the urgency regarding tuna stock sustainability, and I join in the celebration of hard-won gains in tuna conservation. But there is more to the story.

To appreciate why, it’s important to understand how the IUCN Red List methodology compares to other tuna assessment criteria. An explanation I offered 10 years ago, when I was a co-author of IUCN’s first tuna ratings, is still relevant today, so I will summarize it here. 

IUCN has rated tuna species twice to date, and those assessments were 10 years apart.

“Rate of Decline Criterion” 

First, the primary indicator that IUCN relies on to classify fish species is the “rate of declining criterion.” The rate assesses the abundance of mature individual fish and how much they’ve declined over a period of time relative to the age at which they reach maturity.

If during this period (between 5-20 years for tunas) the mature population has declined by at least 50%, it is classified as Vulnerable. If the decline is 70-89%, it is classified as Endangered. If the decline is 90% or more, it is classified as Critically Endangered.

Although this is a consistent formula, when IUCN lists a fish as “Threatened,” it does not necessarily equate to the species being in immediate danger of extinction or collapse. It means only that there has been a drop in population size that meets the IUCN criteria for that particular classification. 

Classifications vs. Real World Fisheries Management

Second, while the IUCN classifications are no doubt useful, they do not always align with criteria for what is considered successful fisheries management. In addition, IUCN assessments are done at the global, species level, while RFMO assessments are done at the stock-region level.

Several factors must be considered in making, or weighing, any evaluation of a stock’s health.

Tuna species are actually at their most productive when they are at 25-40% of their maximum population size, the population that supports maximum sustainable yield, which is RFMOs’ main population management objective.

So that means a 50% drop in tuna population may receive a somewhat alarmist classification by IUCN standards, but it is actually quite reasonable from a fisheries management standpoint. 

Overfished or Threatened?

Consider a scenario in which a fish population has been heavily overfished and has remained severely low — but stable — for decades.

In that case, IUCN would not detect a major drop in abundance based on the IUCN “rate of decline” criterion, and would classify the species as “Least Concern” — or, in other words, not threatened. This classification, however, would be contrary to what fisheries management norms would consider it to be: a failure to ensure that stock’s sustainability.

Recent Red List Report Changes

In the 2021 Red List update, IUCN reassessed the seven most commercially fished tuna species and found four to have shown signs of recovery:

  • The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) moved from Endangered to Least Concern.
  • The Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered.
  • The albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and yellowfin tunas (Thunnus albacares) both moved from Near Threatened to Least Concern.

Alternately, ISSF uses tuna RFMO stock assessments to evaluate stock status. For these four species, the data show the two stocks of Atlantic bluefin with an intermediate stock abundance status, Southern Bluefin with an intermediate stock abundance status, five Albacore stocks with a healthy stock abundance status and one at an intermediate level, and three yellowfin stocks at a healthy level and one depleted (Indian Ocean yellowfin). Intermediate stock abundance refers to a spawning biomass that is below maximum sustainable yield levels but otherwise stable, increasing, or fluctuating, and with corrective actions in place.

As one strong example of divergence, our ISSF assessment shows that Indian Ocean yellowfin is overfished and in need of stronger management, contrary to IUCN’s “Least Concern” classification for yellowfin tuna globally, at a species level. 

Detailed Stock Assessments Ensure Better Stock Management

In conclusion, the Red List, while undeniably useful, does not replace the need for RFMOs’ own stock assessments and related management efforts. Routine, detailed stock assessments yield essential data to be incorporated into scientific advice to guide the development of informed stock-specific management measures. In turn, these targeted management measures can reduce fishing mortality, which improves stock abundance over time. 

For the four stocks in this latest Red List spotlight, IUCN’s “once in a decade” and “one-size-fits-all” stock ratings methodology happens to generally align with tuna RFMOs’ stock status assessments, which are a testament to effective science and management efforts.

But to optimally safeguard tuna populations, it is necessary to dive deeper — to tailor and adopt management measures for each stock based on its unique status and regional circumstances. RFMOs will most certainly need to keep at this work, year in and year out. 

 

ISSF Expresses Disappointment in Eastern Pacific Ocean Fisheries Failure to Adopt Tuna Conservation Measures

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases, Statements.

The recent weeklong Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) yielded few positive results in the advancement of the Commission’s agenda to protect bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack tuna stocks in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Prior to the meeting, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) issued a position statement calling on the regional governing body to adopt a precautionary and science-based new version of its currently inadequate IATTC conservation measure. The current measure has been ineffective in limiting catches of yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna, according to IATTC’s own Scientific Advisory Committee. 

“The IATTC was unable to reach a consensus on an urgently needed tuna conservation measure, delaying this critical goal until its next meeting in October,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “While we are disappointed, we are encouraged by the strong efforts of several parties to the Commission, which did their best to find consensus and promote the adoption of a robust new measure.

Prior to last week’s meeting, ISSF also called on IATTC to ensure the new tuna conservation measure included stronger provisions to manage fish aggregating devices (FADs) to prevent an increase in fishing mortality. Specifically, ISSF’s FAD management priorities included the extension of the FAD closure, active FAD limits, and deployment limits or buoy purchase limits, in addition to requiring the provision of raw data from echosounder buoys and a clear timeline to transition to the use of FADs without netting and made primarily of biodegradable materials. While several IATTC parties made proposals on these topics, they were also not progressed during the meeting. 

In a positive development, IATTC did adopt an electronic monitoring (EM) work plan, which includes a timeline for EM workshops for stakeholders, like fishers and vessel owners.  The IATTC also adopted two resolutions on EM: one on EM definitions and another that establishes the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the workshops.

For the IATTC meeting in October, ISSF is again urging the Commission to pass a new tuna conservation measure that is precautionary and based on scientific advice to limit fishing pressure on yellowfin and bigeye; make improvements in FAD management; and accelerate the development of harvest strategies and modernized monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) tools. The ISSF position statement addresses these priorities specifically as follows:

  • Develop FAD ownership rules and definitions to ensure FAD accountability is maintained through the end of the FAD’s lifetime, and design FAD-recovery mechanisms and incentives by 2023
  • Develop a work plan to create and adopt a FAD marking scheme by 2022 for all new FAD deployments, regardless of vessel type, that requires that FADs be marked on both the buoy and the FAD structure
  • Accelerate development of Management Strategy Evaluation for bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna
  • Require 100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment, by 2024
  • By 2022, adopt a Port State Measures Resolution
  • Establish a work plan to operationalize paragraphs 5-8 of IATTC’s measure C-11-07 on Compliance, and develop audit points

Eastern Pacific Ocean Fisheries Managers Must Adopt Effective Management Measures for Bigeye, Yellowfin and Skipjack Tuna

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Featured, News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has published its position statement in advance of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) 98th Meeting, which will be held virtually on August 23-27, 2021, and convened again in October 2021. The IATTC is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other marine resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). The Commission will focus its August meeting solely on EPO tuna measures, and a subsequent meeting in mid-October will address other items on the Commission’s 2021 agenda.

“The global pandemic continues to stymie the IATTC and all tuna RFMOs in their ability to conduct meetings, negotiate solutions and find consensus,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “We acknowledge these challenges. But continued progress to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna fisheries and ecosystems — using the best available scientific information — cannot wait for a ‘return to normalcy.’”

At its August meeting, #IATTC must adopt a new precautionary, science-based #conservation measure for yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack #tuna. Our position statement explains why. Click To Tweet

Jackson continued, “The IATTC has prioritized discussions on new tuna conservation measures for its August meeting, and we are urging the adoption of tuna measures based on current scientific advice along with related FAD management measures. Decisive action on these items in August will clear the way for an October agenda that is set up for progress on other pressing topics like harvest strategies and monitoring, control, and surveillance. The added fall IATTC meeting must be viewed as further opportunity to adopt all much-needed measures before the end of the year—rather than a reason to delay decision-making at the August meeting.”

The current IATTC tuna conservation measure has been ineffective in limiting catches of yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna. ISSF’s position statement therefore leads with the request that the Commission adopt a new precautionary and science-based tuna conservation measure. This new tuna conservation measure should also include and address fish aggregating device (FAD) management to prevent an increase of fishing mortality—specifically through the extension of the FAD closure, active FAD limits, deployment limits, or buoy purchase limits. The IATTC should further require the provision of raw data from echosounder buoys and set a clear timeline to transition to the use of FADs without netting and made primarily of biodegradable materials.

ISSF urges the Commission, among the topics to be addressed in October, to progress improvements in FAD management; harvest strategies; and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS). The ISSF position statement addresses these priorities specifically as follows:

  • Develop FAD ownership rules and definitions to ensure FAD accountability is maintained through the end of the FAD’s lifetime, and design FAD-recovery mechanisms and incentives by 2023
  • Develop a work plan to develop and adopt a FAD marking scheme by 2022 for all new FAD deployments, regardless of vessel type, that requires that FADs be marked on both the buoy and the FAD structure
  • Accelerate development of Management Strategy Evaluation for bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna
  • Adopt the IATTC electronic monitoring systems (EMS) work plan. Establish a fleetwide observer program (human or electronic) for small purse seine vessels by 2022. Require 100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment, by 2024
  • By 2022, adopt a Port State Measures Resolution
  • Establish a work plan to operationalize paragraphs 5-8 of IATTC’s measure C-11-07 on Compliance, and develop audit points

Read ISSF’s full IATTC position statement, which is also available in Spanish translation, on the ISSF website.

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):

  • Implementation of rigorous harvest strategies, including harvest control rules and reference points
  • Effective management of fleet capacity, including developing mechanisms that support developing coastal state engagement in the fishery
  • Science-based FAD management & non-entangling and biodegradable FAD designs
  • Increased member compliance with all adopted measures, and greater transparency of processes reviewing member compliance with measures
  • Strengthened Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) measures and increased observer coverage, including through modern technologies such as electronic monitoring and e-reporting
  • Adoption of best-practice bycatch mitigation and shark conservation management measures

ISSF Expands Requirements for Longline Fishing Vessels by Strengthening Conservation Measures Covering Shark Finning and Fisher Outreach on Bycatch Mitigation

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Conservation Measures, Featured, News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) today announced updates to several ISSF conservation measures (CM) to facilitate continuous improvements in the sustainability of global tuna fisheries, including those measures that impact longline tuna vessels and the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs).

“ISSF is guiding seafood companies and tuna fishers — with an expanded focus on longline fisheries — in taking additional, scientifically researched steps to protect sharks and other marine species, including through accessible education on up-to-date bycatch-mitigation best practices for skippers,” explains ISSF President Susan Jackson. “We also are furthering requirements for tuna fishers that use FADs to have clear policies for better managing and recovering them — and to use non-entangling, natural materials in FADs to reduce fishing’s impact on the ocean ecosystem.”

These latest conservation measure amendments aim to:

  • Increase protections for vulnerable sharks, sea turtles, and seabirds and other non-target species in tuna fisheries
  • Reduce fishing gear debris in and harm to marine environments
  • Expand how bycatch-mitigation information is shared with fishers

The full text of all measures is published on the ISSF site and excerpted as an editor’s note below.

Shark Finning Prevention: Requirement to Land Sharks with Fins Naturally Attached

Sharks can be caught incidentally in tuna fishing operations, with shark bycatch a significant sustainability concern in longline fisheries. But sharks often are intentionally targeted by vessels for the value of their fins in certain markets.

Shark finning — the practice of retaining shark fins onboard and discarding the remaining carcasses at sea — threatens shark populations and violates the U.N. FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.

ISSF is strengthening its existing shark-finning measures 3.1 (a) – Shark Finning Policy, 3.1(b) – Prohibition of Transactions with Shark-Finning Vessels, and 3.1(c) – Prohibition of Transactions with Companies without a Public Policy Prohibiting Shark Finning, by requiring seafood companies by December 31, 2022, to enact policies requiring all retained, incidentally caught sharks to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. In addition to decreasing shark finning, such policies will help to improve data collection, species identification, and monitoring and enforcement. 

Bycatch Prevention: Marine Species in Longline Tuna Fisheries

Since its inception, ISSF has dedicated resources and efforts to understanding bycatch issues in global tuna fisheries and minimizing bycatch. ISSF has expanded a bycatch-mitigation measure — CM 3.6 – Transactions with Vessels Implementing Best Practices for Sharks, Sea Turtles and Seabirds — effective December 21, 2022, to reflect current on-the-water best practices in longline tuna fisheries.

Bycatch Mitigation: Best-Practices Education for Longline Skippers

To continue disseminating best-practices information on bycatch prevention and mitigation, ISSF will extend its fisher education requirements, as detailed in amended CM 3.4 – Skipper Best Practices, to longline skippers effective December 31, 2022.

Marine Ecosystem Protections: FAD Management and Biodegradable FAD Designs

ISSF strengthens its requirements for better FAD management in CM 3.7 – Transactions with Vessels or Companies with Vessel-based FAD Management Policies — an important component for meeting the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification fisheries standard without conditions — including FAD recovery and FAD designs made with biodegradable and non-entangling materials to minimize fishing’s impact on the marine ecosystem.

Bycatch Prevention: Driftnet Prohibition

Large-scale pelagic driftnets are an unselective method of fishing that results in substantial unintentional catches of many non-target marine species. ISSF has expanded the geographic scope of its measure — CM 3.2 – Large-Scale Pelagic Driftnets Prohibition — on this issue.

About ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance Process

Since its inception in 2009, ISSF has adopted conservation measures and commitments to facilitate its mission with the intent that processors, traders, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry will follow them to facilitate real and continuous improvement across global tuna stocks. Each ISSF participating company commits to conform to these conservation measures to improve the long-term health of tuna fisheries. They also must adhere to the ISSA Compliance Policy.

ISSF participating tuna companies, which represent the majority of the world’s canned-tuna production and include well-known brand names, are audited yearly by MRAG Americas on their compliance with ISSF conservation measures.   

ISSF recently released its ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which ISSF published in coordination with its recent annual report Staying the Course. In addition to a summary report, MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that detail each organization’s compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures. ISSF publishes these individual company compliance reports on its website. 

NOTES TO EDITOR:
Updated ISSF Conservation Measures: Excerpted Amended Text in Bold

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.1 (a) – Shark Finning Policy
All ISSF Participating Companies shall establish and publish policies prohibiting shark finning and requiring sharks be landed with fins naturally attached, if retained.

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.1(b) – Prohibition of Transactions with Shark-Finning Vessels
Processors, traders, importers, transporters and others involved in the seafood industry shall not conduct transactions with vessels that carry out shark finning and/or do not land all sharks with fins naturally attached, if retained.

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.1(c) – Prohibition of Transactions with Companies without a Public Policy Prohibiting Shark Finning
Processors, traders, importers, transporters, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry shall not conduct transactions with companies that do not have a public policy prohibiting shark finning and requiring sharks be landed with fins naturally attached, if retained. 

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.6 – Transactions with Vessels Implementing Best Practices for Sharks, Sea Turtles and Seabirds
Processors, traders, importers, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry shall conduct transactions only with those longline vessels whose owners have a policy requiring the implementation of the following best practices for sharks, seabirds and marine turtles:
(a) the use of circle hooks and only monofilament lines (e.g., the use of wire trace is prohibited); and
(b) the use of whole finfish bait
(c) implementation by the crew of best practice handling techniques for sharks, seabirds and marine turtles such as those outlined in the ISSF Skippers’ Guidebook to Sustainable Longline Fishing Practices; and
(d) No use of “shark lines” at any time.

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.4 – Skipper Best Practices
Processors, traders, importers, transporters, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry shall conduct transactions only with those purse seine and longline vessels whose skippers:
(a) have attended an in-person and/or online ISSF Skippers Workshop; or
(b) have attended an in-person Skippers Workshop provided by a tuna FIP and conducted by a trainer that has been accredited by ISSF to conduct these workshops; or
(c) have viewed an ISSF Skippers Workshop video online; or
(d) have reviewed the online ISSF Skippers Guidebook.

All of the above provide information on best practices for purse seine and longline fishery management.

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.7 – Transactions with Vessels or Companies with Vessel-based FAD Management Policies
To further support the implementation of existing RFMO conservation measures and recommendations for FAD data collection and reporting and the use of non-entangling FAD designs that do not use any netting in any components, including both the raft and the tail, and the use of biodegradable FAD designs that are also fully non-entangling, and to promote the development and implementation of FAD recovery policies, strategies to mitigate shark bycatch in purse seine tuna fisheries and the voluntary provision of FAD buoy data to strengthen FAD management:

  1. Processors, traders, importers, transporters, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry shall conduct transactions only with those purse seine vessels whose owners develop and make public FAD Management Policies that include the activities purse seine and supply vessels are undertaking (if any) on the following elements: (a) Comply with flag state and RFMO reporting requirements for fisheries statistics by set type; (b) Voluntarily report additional FAD buoy data for use by RFMO science bodies; (c) Support science-based limits on the overall number of FADs used per vessel and/or FAD sets made; (d) Use only non-entangling FADs to reduce ghost fishing; (e) Mitigate other environmental impacts due to FAD loss including through the use of biodegradable FADs and FAD recovery policies; (f) For silky sharks (the main bycatch issue in FAD sets) implement further mitigation efforts.
  2. In developing a FAD Management Policy, purse seine vessels and purse seine vessel owning companies should refer to ISSF Technical Paper 2019-11 (or any subsequent revision) in designing the activities for each element
  3. With respect to the element on mitigating other environmental impacts due to FAD loss (item e above), by 1 January 2023, public FAD Management Policies developed under this measure shall include a statement that purse seine vessels and supply vessels covered by the policy are participating in trial(s) of biodegradable FAD designs and/or FAD recovery programs that include the participation of the relevant RFMO science bodies and/or coastal States, national scientists, and/or ISSF scientists to monitor experimental design.
  4. With respect to the element on the use of only non-entangling FADs (item d above), by 1 January 2024, public FAD management policies developed under this measure shall include a statement that purse seine vessels and supply vessels covered by the policy will from this date only use and deploy fully non-entangling FADs, without any netting in any components, including both the raft and the tail.
  5. ISSF CM 3.5 is repealed and replaced by this measure as of 1 January 2024.


ISSF Conservation Measure 3.2 – Large-Scale Pelagic Driftnets Prohibition
ISSF supports the Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly concerning large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing and its impact on the living marine resources of the world’s oceans and seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas.

Processors, traders, importers, transporters, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry shall refrain from transactions in tuna caught by large-scale pelagic driftnets regardless of the geographic area in which the tuna were caught by such driftnets.

Science Leads the Way on Improved Drifting FAD Design and Management in Pacific Ocean Tuna Fisheries

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Science-led, collaborative efforts are the key to regional fisheries management organizations making progress on improved management of fish aggregating devices (FADs), including for the world’s busiest tuna fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

Two papers written jointly by scientists with the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) present current regional research projects on FADs to better understand drifting FAD (dFAD) use and limit related ecosystem impacts.

The papers are published on the occasion of the meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) — which reviews the latest science on the largest tuna fisheries in the world — and address topics of timely concern to the Commission. Drifting FADs are used extensively in the WCPO. Estimates indicate that, over the last decade, between 23,000 and 40,000 dFADs were deployed each year.

Solutions for Marine Pollution, Ghost Fishing, and Ecosystem Impacts

Traditional dFAD designs can lead to entanglement and mortality of non-target species like sharks and turtles. The rate of lost dFADs is also of growing concern. The communities of the region and many fishery stakeholders in the WCPO are keen to find solutions to the marine pollution, ghost fishing, and ecosystem impacts on coastal and pelagic environments caused by these devices.

Accordingly, the papers offer insights to inform work by WCPFC scientists and managers, specifically by detailing the latest dFAD data and research findings and reviewing the need for progressive research in the region. The scientist co-authors:

  • Summarize the latest study to quantify dFAD use in collaboration with the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and work to improve data collection on lost dFADs in the region
  • Make specific recommendations for a project to create guidelines for the reduction of dFAD impact on sea turtles
  • Encourage further testing of biodegradable and non-entangling dFAD designs in the WCPO

In the report entitled Overview of Ongoing Work on FADs, co-authors Lauriane Escalle, Steven Hare and Paul Hamer of SPC, and Gala Moreno of ISSF, summarize several dFAD-related projects, including:

  • A regional database on beached and lost dFADs
  • Updated estimates on the number of dFADs deployed annually in the WCPO and number of active buoys monitored per vessel based on the PNA dFAD tracking data
  • A Pacific-wide project to define guidelines to reduce the impact of lost and abandoned dFADs on marine turtles

In reviewing these projects, the authors share new and useful insights to WCPFC, and provide them a better understanding of current dFAD use through scientific data. A review of the number of dFADs deployed by vessels and number of active buoys monitored in the WCPO, for example, indicates that the existing WCPFC measure on dFAD limits is not achieving its intended effect.  

Sustainable FAD Information for the Tuna Fishing Industry

In an complementary effort to provide additional, actionable data and analysis to WCPFC, a second report, Report of Project 110: Non-entangling and Biodegradable FAD Trial in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, co-authored by Lauriane Escalle and Paul Hamer of SPC, and Gala Moreno of ISSF, reviews plans for further dFAD research in the region.

The paper explores how forthcoming WCPO trials will “provide essential information to the tuna fishing industry on the designs, types of materials, performance and cost-effectiveness of non-entangling and biodegradable dFADs in the WCPO context, and support industry to increase uptake of more ecologically sustainable dFADs.”

The authors anticipate an influx of critical data and findings when the trials commence, including data on the performance and longevity of non-entangling and biodegradable FAD designs. Results will help to provide guidelines to the industry and initiate rapid changes in response to the current, related WCPFC measure. The project will build on substantial prior research in the WCPO and other regions.

The submission of these co-authored papers is one example of how science is leading the way toward more sustainable dFAD use in Pacific tuna fisheries — providing the latest data and research findings that WCPFC scientists and managers need to make concrete progress and proposing next-step research that builds on key learnings to date.

We look forward to further collaboration between ISSF and SPC, as well as fishing vessels and other industry partners, toward achievable, science-based solutions for reducing the impact of dFAD fishing on global tuna fisheries and the broader marine ecosystem.

 

Minimal Progress for the Protection of Indian Ocean Tuna Stocks

Written by svanouse on . Posted in News, Press Releases, Statements.

 

 

 

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At their recently concluded annual meeting, Indian Ocean tuna fisheries managers made minimal overall progress for the long-term protection of the region’s tuna stocks.

IOTC agreed on a new measure for yellowfin tuna. And while ISSF is pleased that many IOTC delegations worked together to agree on some action toward the realization of the scientific advice, we remain cautious in our assessment of the success of this new measure. If fully implemented, the adopted measure projects a resultant yellowfin tuna catch level of 401,000 tons — an amount that meets the recommendation of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Yet it is uncertain if this reduction in catch will be achieved, given the concerns of some member nations and their stated intent to object to the measure. If all IOTC parties do not fully implement the yellowfin measure, the catch level recommended by the IOTC Scientific Committee will be exceeded. 

The ISSF Board will determine at its July 2021 meeting how ISSF Conservation Measure 1.3 IOTC Yellowfin Tuna Rebuilding will or will not go into effect. ISSF recently adopted Conservation Measure 1.3 in response to IOTC inaction. The ISSF measure requires its participating companies to reduce annual sourcing of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna in the event that Indian Ocean tuna fisheries managers did not take appropriate action at its annual meeting. Further information over the coming weeks will inform the ISSF Board’s discussion on the sufficiency of the new measure as likely to be implemented.

Prior to the IOTC annual meeting, ISSF and its partners issued appeals for progress on additional multiple needs for Indian Ocean tuna fisheries, including FAD management; a management measure to monitor and control skipjack tuna catches; and electronic monitoring. While these items were considered by the IOTC, unfortunately the Commission made noteworthy headway on the matter of electronic monitoring alone. ISSF applauds the IOTC agreement to create a Working Group on Electronic Monitoring. This decision progresses work to establish the use of an important monitoring technology in Indian Ocean fisheries.

ISSF remains focused on taking steps forward for the long-term protection of the region’s valuable tuna fisheries and their associated ecosystems. We will be working diligently in the weeks and months ahead with all stakeholders towards this goal.

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ISSF Adopts New Conservation Measure Aimed at Rebuilding Yellowfin Tuna in the Indian Ocean

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Conservation Measures, News, Press Releases.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) today announced a new ISSF conservation measure (CM) requiring its participating companies to reduce annual sourcing of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna. ISSF Conservation Measure 1.3 IOTC Yellowfin Tuna Rebuilding becomes effective in the event that the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) does not take action at its June 2021 annual meeting to effectively implement IOTC scientific committee advice on the reduction of yellowfin catch. The new measure is included in ISSF’s recently released IOTC position statement.

“For more than a year, ISSF and our partners have been urging IOTC to heed scientific advice and act to protect Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna. But the Commission has repeatedly failed to adopt effective measures to rebuild the yellowfin stock, including at its special meeting held in March 2021,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “ISSF and its participating companies are committed to the long term sustainable use of the valuable Indian Ocean tuna resources. We will take steps as needed—with scientific guidance in mind—when fisheries management falls short. And we will do so transparently through a well-established audit and compliance reporting process.” 

Our latest #conservation measure requires ISSF participating #seafood companies to reduce their annual sourcing of Indian Ocean #yellowfin #tuna. Click To Tweet

The most recent advice from the IOTC Scientific Committee (SC) recommends a reduction in yellowfin tuna catches to less than 403,000 tonnes annually, which would represent, at a minimum, an 11% reduction from 2019 catches. ISSF CM 1.3 requires ISSF participating companies to reduce annual sourcing of Indian Ocean origin yellowfin by 11%, calculated with respect to the company’s average annual level of Indian Ocean yellowfin purchases from 2017-2019. The measure also requires companies to issue public statements on their company websites describing their commitment to and implementation of the measure. ISSF CM 1.3 will go into effect on July 31, 2021 if IOTC, once again, fails to adopt a measure to effectively implement the most recent IOTC SC advice at its annual meeting in June.

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to audit participating companies to assess their compliance with all ISSF conservation measures. MRAG Americas conducts independent auditing based on a public audit protocol.

IOTC Position Statement

ISSF has also included recommendations on the IOTC yellowfin rebuilding plan in its IOTC position statement for the June Commission meeting, which outlines these ‘asks’:

  1. Adopt without delay an effective rebuilding plan for yellowfin tuna which, if implemented effectively, would imply a reduction to a total catch between 350,000 and 403,000 tonnes.
  2. Address over-catches in contravention of Resolution 19/01.
  3. Urgently monitor and manage catches of skipjack to ensure catches in 2021 do not exceed the limit set by the adopted Harvest Control Rule.
  4. Accelerate the develop Management Procedures and agree on permanent Limit and Target Reference Points for tropical and temperate tunas, particularly yellowfin, by 2022.
  5. Request the Scientific Committee to provide science-based limits on FAD deployments and/or FAD sets; develop in 2021 and adopt, by 2022, FAD marking guidelines and FAD tracking and recovery policies; and require the use of biodegradable materials in the construction of FADs and establish a timeline for transitioning to 100% biodegradable.
  6. Establish the Working Group on Electronic Monitoring (EM) and develop EM program minimum standards by 2022. Require 100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment, by 2024.

The complete ISSF IOTC position statement is available online: https://www.iss-foundation.org/what-we-do/influence/position-statements/download-info/2021-iotc-position-statement-for-june-2021-meeting/

About ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance Process

Since its inception in 2009, ISSF has adopted conservation measures and commitments to facilitate this mission with the intent that processors, traders, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry will follow them to facilitate real and continuous improvement across global tuna stocks. Each ISSF participating company commits to conform to these conservation measures to improve the long-term health of tuna fisheries. They also must adhere to the ISSA Compliance Policy.

ISSF participating tuna companies, which represent the majority of the world’s canned-tuna production and include well-known brand names, are audited yearly by MRAG Americas on their compliance with ISSF conservation measures. 

ISSF recently released its ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which ISSF published in coordination with its recent annual report, Staying the Course. In addition to a summary report, MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that detail each organization’s compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures. ISSF publishes these individual company compliance reports on its website. 

 

Social Responsibility & Sustainable Seafood

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Note: This message from ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee member  originally was published in the ISSF 2020 Annual Report in April 2021.

Seafood—like other valuable natural resources—is a global commodity. Fresh, frozen, or canned, it typically travels to our plates from faraway waters through an unbelievably complex network of fishers, traders, transporters, processors, producers, marketers, and retailers.

For food and livelihoods, we depend on fishing—one of the last hunter-gatherer activities—as much as (or more than) we ever have. By 2030, a mere nine years from now, the oceans will need to supply over one hundred million tons of seafood to meet the demands of nearly nine billion people.1 Even now, about 12 percent of the population2,3 is involved in fish production, with about 50 million people working in capture fisheries and aquaculture.4

In simply trying to earn a living, however, some seafood workers are being exploited and harmed. Labor and human rights abuses in seafood take many forms, all of them egregious and unacceptable. Abuses range from withheld pay to physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Some cases are a matter of life and death.

Mobilizing an ISSF Coalition for Change

It is impossible to know exactly how many seafood workers have suffered abuse, but given the size of the industry, we can assume the numbers are significant. As a point of reference, an estimated 40 million people worldwide endure coercive or forced labor—particularly migrants and others doing untaxed, undocumented, or black-market work.5,6

To help prevent labor, health, and safety abuses in fishing, ISSF, FishWise, and other NGOs are collaborating with seafood companies, retailers, RFMOs, governments, and international agencies, with a focus on improving seafood traceability and fostering greater transparency in the supply chain. Every seafood-focused organization, whether a company, NGO, or standard-holder, has a role to play.

Last fall, ISSF took a decisive step, establishing a new conservation (CM) in October 2020 that asks each ISSF participating companyto develop public policies on social and labor standards for itself and the vessels and production facilities in its supply chain. ISSF CM 9.1, developed with input from ISSF’s Environmental Stakeholder Committee (ESC), became effective Jan. 1, 2021.

The measure calls for commitments to address:

  • Forced labor
  • Child labor
  • Freedom of association
  • Wages, benefits, and employment contracts
  • Working hours
  • Health and safety
  • Discrimination, harassment, and abuse
  • Grievance mechanisms

CM 9.1 offers ISSF’s 26 participating companies—which represent the majority of the world’s canned-tuna processing capacity—opportunities to increase transparency on labor and social issues, and to influence the treatment of workers among the hundreds of vessels, processing facilities, and other suppliers with which they do business.

Raising the Bar on Social Responsibility

Why are social commitments, and the ongoing accountability to uphold them, so critical?

One answer it that illegal labor and human rights abuses in the seafood industry (or in any global economic sector, for that matter) tend to be concealed. Although that makes them even more challenging to address, it does not diminish our obligation to act, nor does it compromise our ability to make an impact.

Working closely with our partners worldwide, FishWise will continue to empower the industry in taking meaningful, measurable steps toward labor and social initiatives that foster safe, fair working conditions. Next year, when ISSF participating companies are audited on their performanceon CM 9.1 for the first time, we will be eager to assess—and recognize—their progress.

About FishWise

FishWise, a sustainable seafood consultancy and member of the ISSF ESC, also dedicates resources to promote traceability and social responsibility in supply chains. FishWise works with individual companies to make improvements within their supply chains and develops publicly available resources and guidance to help companies make progress on their goals. Most recently, FishWise developed the Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics (RISE). Relaunching in April 2021, RISE is a platform that seafood companies can use to create, develop, and grow their social responsibility programs.

1 Fishing for a Future, 2013
2 FAO 2014
3 FAO 2016
4 SOFIA 2018
5 ILO 2013
6 Walk Free Foundation 2016

Transparency Matters

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Note: This message from ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. Andrew Rosenberg originally was published in the ISSF 2020 Annual Report in April 2021.

In my 35 years as a fisheries scientist and policy expert, I’ve come to believe that every discussion somehow revolves around transparency.

In science, for example, what information underlies our analyses? In policy, how can people trust our decisions and their effectiveness? And, as consultants to non-governmental and international organizations, government and industry, how can we build support for needed actions? It all turns on openness and honesty.

Today, I serve on the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee. Before that, I participated in the ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee. I’ve seen the tuna fishery’s evolution toward sustainability come a long way.

Together, the industry and our organization have built impressive capabilities in science; improved fisheries data collection and reporting; advanced bycatch mitigation research; and worked to implement best practices for the industry—not by government mandate and enforcement, but by community agreement. This consensus, however, can function only if data and information are shared, to verify that ISSF participants follow through on what they signed up to do.

Auditing Sustainable Performance

Now, ISSF has launched a new tool for transparency in the fishing supply chain. It’s called Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI), and it’s the first of its kind—a searchable online list of vessels that operate in Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified tuna fisheries, or participate in tuna Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs), worldwide.

Because sustainability begins with the vessel, the owner, the skipper and the crew, in-depth knowledge of their activities and commitments is critical. That’s why all VOSI-listed vessels undergo regular, independent audits conducted by MRAG Americas, which publishes a detailed audit protocol. (Full disclosure: I am part owner and president of MRAG Americas.) VOSI verifies commitment at the level of the individual vessel, and publicly recognizes vessels that are part of the sustainability solution.

As a transparency tool, VOSI complements ISSF’s other public vessel lists: the ProActive Vessel Register (PVR), the Record of Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels and the Tuna Vessel IMO and UVI Numbers list.

Vessels that qualify for VOSI can ask to be cross-listed in the Record; they also can apply for inclusion in the PVR, to confirm their compliance with a suite of science-based best practices.

Building Credibility

Since the inception of ISSF, our Board of Directors has adopted conservation measures intended to help tuna companies spread concrete, continuous improvement across global   fisheries and marine ecosystems. Those measures include a prohibition on shark finning; policies for tracing tuna from capture to plate; and 30 other practical, productive steps. For their part, ISSF’s participating companies—which comprise the majority of the world’s tuna processing capacity—have regularly opened their books to independent auditors that verify their conformance to science-based ISSF conservation measures.

My day job right now is directing the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where we advocate for transparency in applying science to public policy. By facilitating shared information on the global tuna industry, ISSF is making transparency happen in real time. And that makes me a devoted fan.

Staying the Course

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Note: This message from ISSF President Susan Jackson originally was published in the ISSF 2020 Annual Report in April 2021.

Wherever you call home, I hope that you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and weathering this difficult period as best you can.

More than ever, we appreciate your interest in ISSF’s conservation work, now in its 12th year. Staying the Course explores how the fundamentals we’ve put in place—scientific research, industry and NGO partnerships, and policy advocacy—continued to drive positive results for sustainable fishing, even in these harrowing times.

Maintaining Our Momentum

Last March, as I was writing the letter for our 2019 annual report, pandemic lockdowns were underway worldwide. As alarmed as we were then, we could not have foreseen how devastating COVID-19 would be—disrupting every facet of life nearly everywhere on earth.

For ISSF staff—accustomed to brainstorming with colleagues across a table, presenting research at conferences, and learning alongside professional fishers at sea—the travel restrictions alone could have been profoundly destabilizing. Yet a look back at the ISSF calendar suggests that we hardly missed a beat. The day after I had to place a moratorium on our business travel, we celebrated (while safely stationed in our home offices across various cities and continents) an exciting first: the recognition of two outstanding, up-and-coming fisheries scientists via our initial ISSF Seafood Sustainability Contest.

By the time Month One of our lockdown ended, we had published two technical reports; marked the first successful tuna catch in a biodegradable FAD pilot project; participated in an NGO Tuna Forum Working Group; and conferred with six retailers—and those are just the highlights.

We persevered through 2020, and plunged into this new year without a pause.

Contributing to Progress

But the ISSF team did more than just “keep on keepin’ on,” although that would have been accomplishment enough for any individual or organization in 2020. We undeniably hit our stride.

We marshaled the discipline, tools, and resourcefulness that we long ago had developed as a de-centralized, global team. To stay informed and connected while sheltering in place, we made the most of technologies both innovative and tried-and-true.

Week after week, ISSF shared expertise and ideas—remotely and electronically—in hundreds of ways:

  • In addition to governance and project meetings, ISSF staff participated in more than 150 RFMO, Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs), fishing association, NGO, vessel, and retailer meetings globally. We covered topics that ranged from illegal fishing to FAD beaching, for example, reaching 100 percent of all active purse-seine FIPs and 75 percent of the longline FIPs.
  • We facilitated more than 10 webinars and workshops, “training the trainers” on purse-seine and longline bycatch mitigation techniques; sharing our programs with fellow NGOs like the Global Tuna Alliance and Conservation Alliance for Sustainable Seafood; and co-hosting, with The Pew Charitable Trusts, an RFMO compliance best-practices workshop featuring 30 experts from RFMOs, international organizations, academia, and other sectors.
  • ISSF staff listened and learned as attendees of more than 60 webinars and seminars on topics as diverse as electronic monitoring adoption; the oceans and climate change; seafood worker rights during COVID-19; and organized crime in fisheries.
  • We hosted regular RFMO advocacy coordination calls, convening NGOs represented on the ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee, and welcoming Pew, International Pole and Line Foundation, Olive Ridley Project, Blue Marine Foundation, Humane Society International, and American Bird Conservancy as participants.
  • ISSF oversaw 20 research projects on biodegradable FADs and acoustic discrimination.
  • Our science and advocacy experts authored or co-authored 60+ publications—ISSF scientific and best-practices reports as well as peer-reviewed and RFMO papers.
  • We disseminated 100+ new content items, including our e-newsletter, blogs, position statements, infographics, videos, and social media posts.

On top of that, we launched several new initiatives:

  • VOSI, a public vessel database verifying participation in MSC-certified fisheries and FIPs
  • A conservation measure addressing social and labor policies for seafood companies
  • At-sea biodegradable FAD tests in the Atlantic, Indian, and Western Pacific Oceans

In short, ISSF doubled down, despite COVID-19’s challenges and constraints.

Anticipating a Brighter Future

These achievements and partnerships—and the new generation of sustainable fishing researchers, like the ISSF contest winners and the scholars I met at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions—have reinforced my optimism about our community’s ability to thrive through and after the pandemic.

For their unflagging support of ISSF’s work, I am grateful to our Board and Committee members; our NGO and industry partners; and these generous grant-makers: the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO); Kingfisher Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Ocean Conservancy; and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.