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Author: svanouse

Engaging Fishers in Asia’s Small-Scale Tuna Fisheries

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Dr. Jefferson Murua works in the Marine Research Division of AZTI, a non-profit foundation committed to the social and economical development of the marine environment and food sector. Dr. Murua also conducts educational workshops and research on behalf of ISSF.

Much of ISSF’s bycatch mitigation work concentrates on identifying, testing and sharing best practices for the large-scale tuna purse seine fleets operating with drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs). But ISSF recognizes that reaching fleets of smaller vessels is equally important in the effort to extend best practices for sustainable fishing across global tuna fisheries.

In countries like Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, many tuna fishing fleets are made up of small purse seine vessels that principally fish on anchored fish aggregating devices (AFADs) within their national waters. Though smaller, these boats are plentiful and together comprise a significant portion of the Western Pacific Ocean tuna catches.

Because of their size, use of basic technology and their high catch-retention rates, many of the bycatch mitigation options designed for large purse seiners — pre-estimation of species composition with high-tech echo-sounders, for example — are not applicable to these vessels. For this reason, ISSF has been closely collaborating with these AFAD fleets since 2012 to understand their particular fishing practices, utilization of non-tuna species, and methods of bycatch release —and also to find potential bycatch mitigation methods for sensitive species like sharks.

In close collaboration with the Indonesian Center for Fisheries Research and Development (CFRD), ISSF has established a “train-the-trainer” program in Indonesia for the first time. This program trains a group of local CFRD fisheries scientists to conduct educational ISSF skippers workshops in the skippers’ local, native language, Bahasa Indonesian. The workshops invite fishers to discuss their interaction with bycatch species and show them ways to reduce such unwanted catch.

In September, ISSF and CFRD scientists conducted workshops in six principal Indonesian tuna ports — Jakarta, Benoa, Bitung, Kendari, Sibolga and Banda Aceh. Over 200 captains attended the workshops,  which is required for ISSF participating companies by ISSF conservation measure 3.4 Skipper Best Practices.

Because the Indonesian tuna purse seine fleet comprises thousands of boats that are widely dispersed along the many ports of the Indonesian archipelago, having a dedicated team of national scientists available is vitally important if we are to reach out to a significant portion of the fleet. The plan is to increase the number of workshops and ports visited for 2017.

Also in September, ISSF-supported scientists met with the Vietnamese purse seine tuna fleet for the first time, holding a skipper workshop at the port of Quy Nhon with the help of the national tuna association (VINATUNA) and canneries like FOODTECH. More than 40 captains participated in the workshop, providing scientists with key background information about the fishing gear and methods they utilize in their daily operations.

The workshop was highly productive for both scientists and fishers, and both sides were enthusiastic to continue to collaborate in developing the best sustainable practices for the Vietnamese tuna fisheries.

Read Dr. Murua’s article “Knowledge Exchange with the World’s Tuna Fishers” in MarineScienceToday.com.

Improving Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Tools in Indian Ocean Tuna Fisheries

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

Miguel Herrera is Deputy Manager of OPAGAC (Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores), an association of eight tuna purse seine fishing companies and forty large-scale tuna purse seiners that operate worldwide. Prior to OPAGAC, Miguel headed the Spanish Fisheries Office and spent over fifteen years working for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). He has a degree in Biology (Zoology) from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain.

Stakeholders in Indian Ocean tuna fisheries recently pooled resources for an important first in the Seychelles region. Several organizations are charged with collaborating to build capacity on the use of electronic monitoring systems (EMS) on fishing vessels there:

These groups are evaluating the feasibility of using EMS for monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) of Seychelles-flagged fishing vessels, as well as of foreign-flagged vessels licensed to operate in the Seychelles. While the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project has been involved with EMS in the Pacific and Atlantic — in in Fiji and Ghana, respectively — the Seychelles project is its first EMS activity in the Indian Ocean, which accounts for about 20% of the world’s tuna production.

The EMS equipment in Seychelles includes 7 cameras aboard a 4,428-ton purse seine vessel called Intertuna Tres and the same number of cameras on a 3,445-ton purse seine vessel, the Galerna III. The cameras are recording 24/7. Their placement in different parts of the vessel allows for a complete and simultaneous monitoring of all steps in fishing operations: as the set is made; when the catch is brailed or hauled on board; during sorting of the target tunas and bycatch species; and, finally, storing the catch into freezing wells. It also allows for direct monitoring of the environment around the vessels.

All of these data are stored with the exact time and position of every event. “Dry” or land-based observers from the SFA — observers who work on land rather than at sea on the vessel — have been trained to use the equipment and software to review and analyze the videos and record data. All dry observers had substantial previous experience as at-sea observers aboard tuna purse seines. The data reviewed by the dry observers will also be validated independently.

The project has also trained port samplers at the SFA on conducting port oversampling of catches, i.e., sampling a much larger number of fish than usual, from trips monitored through EMS. Estimating the species composition of purse seine catches at sea can be difficult, because large volumes of fish — up to five tons at a time — are sent to fish wells quickly.

Using EMS technology to estimate tuna species composition is a compelling component of the Seychelles activity, sampling much larger numbers of fish than a human could. The catches estimated using data obtained from port oversampling will be used to ensure that EMS provides good estimates of catch and size distribution per species and fishing set. Improving the accuracy of these data will help to improve the stock assessments and ecosystem impacts of the purse seine fishery that form the scientific basis for fisheries management in the region.

It is important to remember that purse seiners are not the only vessels in need of improved MCS in tuna fisheries. Lessons learned on this activity, and during the other EMS studies, will be applied to further research on EMS feasibility for longline vessels and other gear types. Results from activities like these could showcase the results and effectiveness of electronic monitoring, serving as powerful examples of the tool’s value across all fisheries.

RFMOs and vessel operators can look to projects like these to evaluate and invest in the value of this technology as one tool among many to increase the global sustainability of fisheries.

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The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has supported related EMS pilot studies in other regions and is a partner in the EMS activities of the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project in Ghana. ISSF has drafted standards for the implementation of EMS and advocates universally for stronger MCS measures like EMS at tuna RFMOs.

Fisher Training to Improve Post-Release Survival of Incidentally Captured Marine Turtles in Costa Rica

Written by svanouse on . Posted in Blogs, News.

This project is an initiative of the Costa Rican Government (Fisheries Agency and Environment Ministry), and has been carried out via collaboration between the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), EcoPacific+, Submon and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC).

Incidental capture of sea turtles is a well-known impact of longline and other fisheries worldwide and one of several significant causes of the decrease in sea turtle populations. While effective alternatives to reduce incidental capture are studied and put in place, identifying methods to increase an animal’s probability of survival after incidental capture is of equal importance. There are a number of techniques and procedures that can increase the chances of sea turtles surviving the interaction with fisheries. These practices should be adapted in each case to the operational and technological conditions of the fishery and also in light of socioeconomic aspects. All of this information should be passed onto fishers, fishery observers and government agencies in order to improve marine turtle post-release survival and long-term sustainable management of fisheries.

Thanks to an interdisciplinary team of professionals with expertise in fishing technologies — veterinarians, fishers and fishery observers from the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea — knowledge of these handling techniques has improved over 12 years. Throughout, the contribution and knowledge of fishermen and observers has been essential to identify techniques and tools that are practical and applicable to specific fishing conditions.

The Government of Costa Rica is working to mitigate the impact of longline fisheries on marine turtles. In November 2014, the Government published an Executive Decree on the “Management for the efficient use of tuna and similar species in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Costa Rican Pacific” (known as “the Tuna Decree”). This requires, among other items, the training of fishers and observers in best practices and the use of adequate tools on board longline vessels. The private sector, comprised of tuna processors and seafood exporters, has also expressed its willingness to improve operations towards the responsible and sustainable fishing of large pelagic fish. Two important processes are currently underway in the country: 1) the implementation of “the Tuna Decree” and 2) the beginning of a project to improve the mahi-mahi longline fishery, which catches turtles accidentally.

Costa Rica is therefore at an optimal moment to develop training programs in best-handling techniques of sea turtles on board longline vessels. To capitalize on this momentum, 10 technical workshops were carried out along the country’s Pacific coast. This was a further step by the Government Fishery Agency (the Costa Rican Institute of Fishing and Aquaculture – INCOPESCA) and the Environmental Ministry (MINAE) to engage fishers, industry, national NGOs and the government inspectors in the protection of sea turtles — working together toward solutions to improve fisher’s work while minimizing threats to sea turtle conservation.

Attendance at the workshops was twice what was initially expected, with a total of 317 fishers in the main harbors: Cuajiniquil, Playa del Coco, Puntarenas, Quepos and Golfito, and in a small-scale fishing community with artisanal fishers, Playa Lagarto/Sanjuanillo. The “Tuna Decree” was explained, in addition to results from previous experiments with “J” (traditional) and circle hooks carried out in the country. A specialist veterinarian explained anatomy and physiology of sea turtles, best practices for removing hooks when handling incidentally captured turtles, and the reasons why such practices can save turtles.

The aim of these sessions was to empower fishers with the knowledge to make informed decisions regarding the handling of sea turtle bycatch when on the fishing vessel, depending on the various situations they face. A total of 100 pig-tail and 100 J dehookers were given out to attending longline vessel captains or owners, as well as t-shirts with best practices illustrated on the back for all attending fishers. It was exciting listening to the fishers sharing experiences and absorbing the presentations and demonstrations as though it were the first day of class. An atmosphere of trust is fundamental to the successful sharing of ideas, and such an atmosphere was made possible thanks to the respectful relationships built over years with longline fishers — as well as a result of their leaders’ commitment to improving fisheries management.

Three more sessions were conducted for government officials, fishery observers, beach technicians and researchers in Puntarenas, Cabuyal and Ostional, so that they can apply the same techniques when faced with injured turtles on vessels or in remote areas. And a fourth talk was carried out at the University of Costa Rica for students to learn about the problem of incidental capture of turtles and work being developed to reduce its impact on species conservation.

These trainings lay the groundwork for future actions in Costa Rica, such as: implementing an observer pilot program for the longline fleet; the collection of turtle bycatch data, which is now required in a new logbook system; and the training of key personnel to continue further training of fishermen in best practices.

This experience in Costa Rica showed that fisheries are very dynamic: techniques and procedures should be periodically tested and, therefore, training programs should be ongoing, in order to incorporate new findings and knowledge. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the challenges fisheries may face, and it is essential to adequately know and understand fishing sectors, technically and socially. Continued training will reach more fishers and professionals in Latin America and other regions, sharing the results of research, and building on what we learn from fishers.

Thank you, ISSF and IAC, for confidence in and support for these activities, and participating fishers for enthusiasm in adapting to the new practices these efforts are designed to create.