Skip to content
FFA's TunaPacific: Fisheries news and views

FFA's TunaPacific: Fisheries news and views

  • Home
  • The project
  • Contributors
  • Disclaimer

Spreading the word on Pacific actions for sustainable ocean fisheries management

Byline: Madeleine Stirrat

Pacific Community projects an easterly move for two key tuna species

Categories News, NewsPosted on 24 October 2019
Pacific Community projects an easterly move for two key tuna species
Yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares. Photo: Graham and Dairne/Flickr.
Share List

HONIARA, 24 October 2019 – Pacific Community (SPC) fisheries scientist Sam McKechnie says SPC’s research shows an easterly move for skipjack and yellowfin tuna species in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean that will be clear by 2050 and pronounced by 2100. 

According to a September 2018 SPC report, the prediction is driven by the degradation of fish spawning habitats due to higher ocean temperatures. 

McKechnie presented current projections of the impacts of climate change on tuna movement during the 7th Global Environment Facility Steering Committee last month.

SEAPODYM modelling of the impacts of climate change on skipjack and yellowfin tuna.
Image: Pacific Community (SPC).

Part of SPC’s climate modelling focuses on the effects of climate change on bycatch species such as sharks, seabirds and turtles. While not of commercial interest, these animals are immensely important for ecological diversity and food security. 

McKechnie said that the SPC research optimistically shows that some species, like the yellowtail kingfish, may be able to adapt to predicted changes. This capacity occurs when there is higher genetic diversity in a species and it is able to thrive in warming waters. Yellowtail kingfish can be bred easily in captivity, making it an excellent test subject for studying the impacts of climate change on large species that live in the open ocean.

Management of fish stocks in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Pacific countries and on the high seas depends on understanding current stock levels. It also depends on estimating catch levels so that Pacific countries can capitalise on the fisheries economically and socially, while maintaining sustainable limits. Programs developed by SPC, for example TUFMAN 2, support rigorous documenting on vessels to ensure accurate catch reporting. 

“There’s a big update coming in the next couple months that will be rolled out,” McKechnie said. 

“TUFMAN has been extremely valuable for us and there’s more components that have been added recently […] that will hopefully increase the value of the data and that there will be less mistakes. 

“The better this interface gets, the easier it is to validate.” 

Eugene Pangelinan, the Executive Director of the National Oceanic Resource Management Authority (NORMA), thanked SPC for support in this area, as electronic reporting is a priority for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). 

“We have been pushing forward on implementing the electronic monitoring on all our commercial fisheries, foreign and domestic, by 2023,” he said.

Fisheries representatives from Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji and FSM expressed appreciation for the SPC’s work in data collection and regional training workshops during Tuesday’s meeting. 

Members said these activities, supported through the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project (OFMP2), have informed decision-making and improved electronic monitoring.

Participants of the SPC-run introductory stock-assessment workshop held in May 2018. Image: Pacific Community (SPC).
Author Madeleine Stirrat

Pacific countries gather to plan for the future of oceanic fisheries management

Categories News, NewsPosted on 24 October 2019
Pacific countries gather to plan for the future of oceanic fisheries management
Representatives of the 14 member states of the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project (OFMPII) at the 7th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Steering Committee on Tuesday.
Share List

HONIARA, 24 October 2019 – The 14 member states of the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project (OFMP2) gathered on Tuesday to plan for the final year of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) initiative. During the 7th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Steering Committee meeting, participants reflected on project’s achievements during the year and made plans for the future.

FFA representatives talked final targets for the OFMP2 project before it wraps up in 2020. Next year, the project will focus on limits and allocations for tropical tuna on purse seine and longline vessels, longline electronic monitoring, and transhipment review. 

Solomon Islands crew quantifying transhipments from a Taiwanese longliner. Photo: Francisco Blaha.

Project Manager, Hugh Walton said one of the main concerns for the next phase of the project was high seas management.

“Deep Water Fishing Nations (DWFNs), particularly China and Taiwan, want to retain that right for the high seas transhipment.

“They have to be able to prove economic disadvantage […] it’s not documented, and it’s not tested, so it’s a huge loophole and we’re trying to close it.”

The Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office CEO, Ludwig Kumoru, also emphasised that the project could only move forward with long-term high seas allocations in place. Current allocations ensure that available resources are equitably distributed between fisheries who target the same species outside country Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).

Mere Lakeba, Director of Fisheries, Fiji said that catering to countries’ individual needs was important moving forward. Hugh Walton, OFMPII coordinator said that this would be a priority.

“In preparing the last proposal, the OMFP sent consultants to each country and produced a template of situational analyses of what was going on in each country to identify national priorities.

“There is no one size fits all, and we would not aspire to a one size fits all approach,” Walton said.

Walton also spoke of project successes including the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and the resulting Strategic Action Programme (SAP) produced by Professor David Vousden of Rhodes University.

The TDA and SAP have shed light on the current challenges for the management of Pacific EEZs, and presented Pacific countries with the steps that can be taken to mitigate the issues.

The report put root causes of current fisheries issues down to a lack of high seas compliance, climate change impacts, and pollution from coastal and inland activities.

It also notes a positive: migratory tuna stocks are currently at sustainable levels due to the management and efforts of Pacific fisheries over the last 20 years.

All 14 member states have sent letters of endorsement for the Project Implementation Form (PIF). The PIF was submitted to the GEF on October 11, and outlines plans for continuing OFMP2 activities. A detailed proposal for the next phase of the project is planned for June 2020.

Author Madeleine Stirrat

Recent posts

  • Overfishing, conservation, sustainability and farmed fish
  • FFA study to enhance monitoring and lower risk of IUU fishing
  • Pacific solidarity needed to get climate change embedded in Tropical Tuna Measure
  • Pandemic, climate threats and economic hardship in illegal sea cucumber harvesting on Ontong Java
  • WCPO tuna fisheries soon to be managed by the whole ecosystem

Popular

  • Features
  • FFA Media Fellows past events
    • @WCPFC13
    • @WCPFC14
    • @WCPFC15
    • @WCPFC16
  • News
    • Media releases
    • News
  • The tuna picture
    • Photography
    • Videos

Subscribe to TunaPacific


 

Categories

  • Features
  • FFA Media Fellows past events
    • @WCPFC13
    • @WCPFC14
    • @WCPFC15
    • @WCPFC16
  • News
    • Media releases
    • News
  • The tuna picture
    • Photography
    • Videos

Author

  • Log in
  • Register
Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.