December 4, 2013

Fisheries Commission discusses future of world's largest tuna fishery

At a meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the future of the world's largest tuna fishery is being discussed in Cairns, Australia.

Pacific Island nations want less tuna to be taken from the Pacific, where much of the fishing is done by 'distant water' fleets from the US, Europe, China, Japan and South Korea. It's a catch worth US$7 billion a year, and last year it accounted for 60% of the global tuna harvest.

Amanda Nickson, director of Tuna Conservation for the environmental group, Pew Charitable Trusts is there keeping watch over the proceedings.

"The western and central Pacific Ocean yields over 50% of the world's tuna. It is particularly important and it's a unique and important fishery. It covers around 20% of the world's surface. It is a huge stretch of the ocean from Hawaii, over to Japan through the Philippines and Indonesia, down intro Australia's waters and into the Pacific Islands," Nickson said.

A number of tuna species are covered by the commission but the major negotiations this week surround big eye.

She said, "Big eye have been experiencing over fishing for over a decade. Big eye is highly valued for the sushi and sashimi market. Pacific blue fin are also in need of action. The first Pacific blue fin of the season last year sold for US$1.7 million just days before a stock assessment came out saying that species is at less than 4% of its unfished levels. We want the commission to step in this year and really take some action to make sure a rebuilding plan goes into place for that species."

Around 43 countries are represented at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission but Nickson is concerned that most independent observers have been locked out of the negotiations over big eye tuna.

She said there is only one observer 'who is not allowed to speak and not allowed to report back'.