Tag: catch

Papua New Guinea tuna-fishing efforts uninterrupted by COVID-19

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Bernadette Carreon writes in SeafoodSource, 3 May 2021

The Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea said its Marine Stewardship Council-certified tuna catches have not been interrupted – and have even gained momentum – even in the face of COVID-19 and its effects on the industry and market.

According to the Papua New Guinea Fishing Industry Association (PNGFIA) 2020 annual report, the country’s tuna haul in 2020 was 74,000 metric tons (MT). 

PNG Fishing Association Sustainability Director Marcelo Hidalgo told SeafoodSource the data was collected from the National Fishery Authority (NFA) of Papua New Guinea observers placed onboard, and the Integrated Fishery Management System (iFIMS).

All told, the catch yielded 254 million tuna cans of tuna.

PNGFIA Chair Sylvester Pokajam said PNG has continued to deploy on-board fisheries observers, even though the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission allowed the suspension of fisheries observers coverage on purse-seiners at the beginning of the pandemic. He said the NFA would not have allowed fishing operations to continue without observers on board.

“After we attained MSC status in May 2020, the National Fishing Authority insists that observers are placed on vessels and allow them to also disembark in several ports,” Mr Pokajam told SeafoodSource.

Mr Pokajam said because of this, the country’s fishing efforts accelerated, and its processing capacity had not been affected by the pandemic.

“Fishing was not interrupted. [In fact,] it really gained momentum,” he said.

The association has been strict in making sure all the observers are following safety protocols, including taking COVID-19 tests before being placed on board. There are 200 MSC-certified observers on board the country’s tuna vessels, but they are only on board for a month at a time to ensure their safety, Mr Pokajam said.

Mr Pokajam said that observers are crucial in ensuring vessels comply with fishery regulations, and pointed to the report noting that PNG has been fulfilling its mandate of traceability and transparency.

“A traceability system is the best method to prevent fraud and illegal products from entering the supply chain as certified products. It protects consumers and the efforts of everyone working to keep our oceans healthy,” the report said. 

“A traceable supply chain is a key to delivering the MSC’s vision of healthy oceans and providing its consumers with sustainable seafood they can trust.”

PNGFIA fishers and processors are selling whole round frozen tuna, pre-cooked frozen tuna loins, raw packed canned tuna, and canned tuna. Mr Pokajam said PNG is also opening sales to new markets in 2021, including from Spain and the United Kingdom.

Tuna numbers healthy, but WCPO needs harvest controls, says ISSF

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The tuna fisheries of the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) are in better shape than those of other oceans, a report just published by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) shows.

The report summarises the state of health of the world’s tuna fisheries. It covers 23 tuna stocks: 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. All but bluefin are commercially important in the WCPO.

The report is compiled from official reports of the 5 regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs), including the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which manages the tuna fisheries of the WCPO.

It backs up research by the Pacific Community that compares the status of tuna populations in the western Pacific, eastern Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The WCPO is the only area of ocean in which all four tuna are abundant and are not overfished.

Graph of numbers of four species of tuna in eastern Pacific, western Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, and state of health of tuna populations using green, yellow and red code. Graph: Pacific Community
Tuna populations in the WCPO (second column) are much healthier than in other oceans. Catch and stock status for albacore (ALB), bigeye (BET), skipjack (SKJ) and yellowfin (YFT) tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO), western Pacific Ocean (WPO), Atlantic Ocean (AO) and Indian Ocean (IO). Figure: Pacific Community.

Although the ISSF report shows that tuna are abundant enough in the WCPO to be able to withstand fishing at current levels, it points out that there is “no potential” to increase fishing for yellowfin because it is “fully exploited”.

ISSF rated each of the 23 global stocks using 3 factors: abundance, fishing mortality, and environment. Each factor is colour-coded green (good, sustainable), yellow (warning, borderline) or orange (unsustainable or insufficient management).

Abundance relates to not just to populations numbers, but also looks at whether fish have been allowed to grow and reproduce at their most productive level.

Mortality is a measure of how intense the fishing effort is, and is a way of understanding whether a population is being overfished.

Environment refers mostly to action to minimise bycatch, species such as sharks, turtles and seabirds, as well as juvenile tuna, that aren’t targeted for fishing but end up in the catch. Some species face extinction, partly as a result of commercial fishing. Bycatch is usually noted accurately when it the catch is monitored independently.

Need to improve harvest controls and monitoring of longline fishing

The report shows that all RFMOs need to manage stocks better, even where tuna are abundant.

ISSF’s particular focus was harvest controls. Although there are no binding target reference points (TRPs) or harvest controls in the WCPO yet, it notes that a few conservation and management measures (CMMs) include interim targets. CMM 2014-06 calls for harvest strategies for each kind of tuna and lists the elements that should be included. CMM 2015-06 sets an interim TRP for skipjack tuna.

CMM 2020-01 contains bridging rules for bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin that include benchmark numbers (expressed as spawning biomass) to be maintained. However, ISSF said that this CMM was too complex because it included “many ‘either/or’ choices, exemptions or exclusions” and that decisions were yet to be made about some measure. These made it “impossible to predict the outcomes in terms of actual future catch and effort levels”.

WCPFC is not alone: there are few TRPs and harvest controls operating in other oceans either.

The other major concern noted in the report is the lack of independent monitoring of longline fleets, which ISSF labelled as “deficient” in all oceans and among nearly all fisheries where longline fishing occurs. Without monitoring, it is impossible to know how much wildlife becomes bycatch. Longline fleets are notoriously difficult to monitor.

Strengths of WCPFC management also noted

The report notes that the interim arrangements to control the tuna harvest in the WCPO are “robust” and “ensure the sustainability of bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna stocks”. They include:

  • banning the use of fish-aggregating devices (FADs) from 1 July to 30 September each year, between the latitudes of 20 °N and 20 °S, in both exclusive economic zones and high seas
  • imposing an additional FAD closure of 2 months
  • requiring that all FADs prevent the entanglement of sharks, turtles and other species
  • limiting the number of drifting FADs, fishing days and, for some vessels, freezing capacity
  • requiring that all fish caught be retained, even if they have no market value or haven’t been targeted for fishing
  • requiring that all purse seine vessels have an independent observer on board.

ISSF reports that the global catch of albacore, bigeye, bluefin, skipjack and yellowfin in 2019 was 5.3 million tonnes. It said that 65% of stocks of tuna were at healthy levels of abundance, 13% were overfished, and 22% were in between.

Worldwide, 87.6% of the catch was from healthily abundant stocks.

About 52% of the world’s production of tuna was from the WCPO.

The report, Status of the world fisheries for tuna: March 2021, can be downloaded from the ISSF website.

Manual on design, technology and use of anchored FADs updated

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A new technical manual on the design of and use of anchored fish-aggregating devices has been released for the Pacific Islands.

The technical manual covers standard designs for different kinds of anchored FADs, and some regional modifications of these. It also discusses technical considerations for the design of upper floatation devices, main lines, and anchors, and considers deployment location and techniques from different kinds of fishing vessels, and maintaining FADs.

The manual improves on a 2005 edition by drawing on the experience and lessons learned by users of FADs across the Pacific. 

The manual is published by the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (FAME) Division of the Pacific Community (SPC).

The new manual doesn’t replace the old ones, which FAME says still contains useful technical information. However, FAME said it became clear in 2016 that the older manual did need updating, when Pacific FAD users came together to share their knowledge and experiences in FAD design and innovation.

They said information that was still relevant in the 2005 edition had not been repeated in the new manual, but was referred to.

The manual is free to download in individual sections or as a complete manual. The 2005 manual can also be downloaded from the SPC website.

composite photo. Left image 3 men with leaves, floats, anchors, making anchored fish-aggregating devices. Right photo: two men on a small boat at sea feeding anchored FADs into the water. Photos: Forum Fisheries Agency.
Construction and deployment of FADs, Nauru. Photo: Forum Fisheries Agency.

Note: this post was amended on 18 March 2020 to replace images.

Climate change linked to PNG fishing losses

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Fishing vessels, both modern and traditional, in the Madang lagoon, Papua New Guinea; part of the planned Pacific Marine Industrial Zone.
Photo: RNZI/Johnny Blades

Republished from Radio New Zealand, 26 June 2019

Papua New Guinea’s fisheries sector is losing out because climate change is driving fish away from its waters, PNG’s Fishing Industry Association says.

Association president Sylvester Pokajam, who’s the former managing director of the National Fisheries Authority, said shifting climatic conditions in the western Pacific were pushing certain fish species away from PNG.

The sector is struggling for revenue as a result, Mr Pokajam said.

On the bright side, more fishing vessels are flying the PNG Flag, he said.

Mr Pokajam also praised fishing companies who had established canneries in PNG, providing employment for local people.

PNG-based operations are processing nearly half of the fish caught in the country’s waters, a large portion of which is tuna, he said.

The association recently applied to have its purse seine skipjack and yellowfin tuna fishery assessed for certification by the Marine Stewardship Council.

The fishery includes onshore processing plants supported by PNG-flagged vessels and locally-based foreign fishing vessels.

Solomons makes $399M from tuna alone, in 2017

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THE Solomon Islands government has earned a record $399 million Solomon Island Dollar (SBD) from its tuna resources in 2017, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) in Honiara has revealed. This is around $51 million US dollars.

The fishing industry now offers hope for the country, behind the logging industry, which earns more but is slowly decreasing in its revenue.

Ministry’s Under-Secretary (Technical) Ferral Lasi said offshore fisheries remain the largest income-generating sector and this is from tuna alone, which accounts for almost 90 per cent of the revenues.

He said it’s a trend he believes could take the lead in a country that has heavily relied on logging for the last two decades.

“Tuna is soon to take up the lead, as it continues to show a massive increase in revenue compared to the past.

“This positive trend shows the improvement in management of the country’s ocean resources and, most importantly, the collective efforts from neighbouring countries in the region to pursue a common objective to manage tuna,” Mr Lasi said.

He added that the species of tuna caught in the Solomon waters worth millions of dollars are albacore, yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack – the four main species of interest in the world market.

“The wealth of any island nation in the Pacific lies in the massive area of waters surrounding their archipelagos, and that is measured 200 nautical miles from the shoreline, known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”

Mr Ferral Lasi, Under-Secretary (Technical) Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) speaking to the regional journalists at the WCPFC14, in Philippines. Photo: Ronald Toito’ona

Like other island countries, the ocean bounded under the sovereignty of Solomon Islands is many times larger than the land mass of the country itself, hence the responsibility to care and protect the EEZ is a challenge.

Mr Lasi’s revelation that $339 million collected from revenues in fisheries by the government is a well-deserved acknowledgement for the hardworking staff in the MFMR.

He dubbed logging in the country as a ‘sunset industry’.

“The fishing industry remains the most promising industry that keeps the government optimistic for the future.”

He said once other marine species are managed well to benefit the local people and enable them to participate in commercial activities, more revenue will pour into the country without heavy reliance on tuna.

He said an example of this is bech-de-mer (sea cucumber), which is a valuable marine species but not abundant like tuna.

Mr Lasi stressed that once the right policies are put in place by the government to help local people, the management and commercialization of sea cucumber will definitely boost the economy and enrich the indigenous people.

“There are many marine resources inside our coastal waters and the ocean that should be enough to sustain our livelihood and support our government to commit in its service delivery.”

Honiara port is one of the busiest port in the Pacific: purse seiners that are fishing in the Solomon Islands waters are doing transhipment. Photo: Ronald Toito’ona

Mr Lasi further stated that more work is being carried out by MFMR to gauge the maximum benefit Solomon Islands can acquire from its ocean resources, though sustainable management.

There may be several more millions generated from other marine products.

But the question is, how much of that money actually ends up in the hands of Solomon Islanders?

This is a hard question to answer.

But it’s a question worth answering if Solomon Islanders are to quantify the benefits they are deriving from their own marine resources.

Former chief executive officer of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the country’s very own fisheries law expert, Dr Transform Aqorau, once said that the Solomon Islands should be earning more from its tuna than what it is earning now.

But for the nation to earn maximum benefits from its marine resources, resource owners must be considered and included in all facets of policy and decision-making.

Right now, most of the big players in the industry are outsiders. Solomon Islanders are still missing out.

Whilst the fisheries industry holds much hope for the country, authorities need to ensure resource owners get maximum benefit from their resources.

 

 

 

 

Decision to increase bigeye tuna catch limit criticised

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Republished from SciDev.Net, 12 December 2017

Member countries and territories of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have agreed to adopt measures to conserve stocks of tropical tuna even as conservation groups criticised the decision to increase the catch limit of bigeye tuna.According to consensus reached at the 14th regular session of the commission which concluded on 8 December in Manila, the “bridging measures”, such as regulating and monitoring the use of fish aggregating device (FAD) and long lines of baited hooks, will be in place for three years while WCPFC members prepare a comprehensive tuna harvest strategy covering catch limits and spawn stocks.“Conservation and management measures shall ensure, at a minimum, that stocks are maintained at levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield, pending agreement on target reference points as part of the harvest strategy approach,” said the draft agreement (7 December).

The 26-member WCPFC, the governing body for international agreement on migratory fish in the Pacific, are composed mostly of small island states in the Pacific but also include developed countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States.

The WCPFC said the use of FADs will be prohibited for three months in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and two months in the high seas. Exempted are Kiribati-flagged vessels operating in the high seas adjacent to Kiribati’s EEZ and Philippine vessels fishing in corresponding situations.

Decision to increase bigeye tuna catch limit criticised
A bigeye tuna catch. Copyright: Panos

FADs are semi-permanent floating structure made from any materials used to lure fish such as tuna. But FADs end up trapping other marine animals like sharks, sea turtles and dolphins, and also catch young tuna, precluding them from breeding.

Conservation and public interest groups welcomed the measures, but were critical of the commission’s decision to increase the catch limit of bigeye tuna by nearly 10 per cent. Critics have pointed out that the Commission misinterpreted the Scientific Committee’s report in August as suggesting that the bigeye is not overfished.

Holly Koehler, vice-president, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, Washington, explains the scientific committee of the WCPFC had referred to uncertainty in the bigeye stock status and recommended to maintain the current level so as not to decrease biomass.

“That’s why we asked that fishing mortality on bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks not increase from current levels to maintain current or increased spawning levels until the commission can agree on appropriate target reference points,” Koehler tells SciDev.Net.

Amanda Nickson, a director at Pew Charitable Trusts, says raising the catch limit will weigh on the bigeye’s biomass. “Commission members should ensure negotiations start immediately toward a stronger measure next year, to ensure precautionary, science-based management of its fisheries,” she says.

The western and central Pacific Ocean accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the global tuna catch in 2016, worth over US$ five billion.

WCPFC members agree to increase bigeye limits

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Republished from SeafoodSource, 8 December 2017

Members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission concluded a five-day conference in Manilla, The Philippines, earlier this week by increasing catch limits on tropical tunas. It’s a move at least one conservation group fears could threaten the bigeye stock.

Beginning next year, Japan will be able to catch up to 18,265 metric tons of bigeye tuna. South Korea was allotted a nearly 14,000-metric-ton limit, while Taiwan will be able to harvest nearly 10,500 metric tons. China received a limit of more than 8,200 metric tons, in addition to a one-time transfer of 500 metric tons from Japan in 2018. Indonesia received a provisional allotment of nearly 5,900 metric tons, and the United States, which won the right to use its Pacific territories to increase its limit, can catch more than 3,500 metric tons.

Those limits were set after the commission’s scientific committee concluded that the bigeye stock “appears” not to suffer from overfishing.

Amanda Nickson, who is the director of international fisheries for The Pew Charitable Trusts, called the decision to increase the limits by 10 percent disappointing. The commission’s decisions mean the bigeye stock have a greater than 20 percent chance of falling below its accepted biomass standards over the next 30 years.

“The inability to agree on measures that are in line with scientific advice puts into question the Commission’s ability to fulfill its mandate and meet the needs of the Pacific islands that depend on healthy tuna fisheries for economic security and the distant-water fishing nations that operate Pacific Ocean fleets,” she said.

Bigeye tuna - copyright NOAA
Bigeye tuna – copyright NOAA

In its agreement, the commission announced it encourage members to research methods that would reduce the catch of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tunas. In addition, would review the bigeye catch limits based on any revised stock assessments and the recommendations of the scientific committee.

WCPFC members also said they intend to switch to a zone-based system of longline catch limits to replace the current method of flag-based limits within members’ exclusive economic zones.

The new measures are scheduled to take effect on 6 February and will run through 2020.

Nickson said she hopes the members continue their discussions with develop plans to better protect the stocks.

“The health of tropical tunas in the Pacific, and the communities who depend on them, requires it, and cannot wait [to restart negotiations] another year,” she said.

Pacific dilemma – How to fish the world’s biggest ocean when tuna are scarce

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Republished from Matangi Tonga Online, 6 December 2017, by Emmanuel Samoglou, PACMAS

Different approaches towards managing a heavily depleted fish stock have emerged between two Pacific nations.

In the past decade southern albacore numbers have dropped significantly making profitability very difficult, especially for Pacific-owned boats that do not receive fuel subsidies available to many foreign vessels.

At the 14th annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) currently being held in Manila, Philippines, the Solomon Islands and the Cooks Islands – home to the two biggest southern albacore fisheries – have separately voiced preferences for competing management systems for the tuna.

Previously, Solomon Islands said it has withdrawn from a key fishing agreement aiming to limit the total catches of southern albacore, citing differences over how to best manage catches.

The agreement, known as the Tokelau Arrangement, saw 11 nations from the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) member countries agree in 2014, to place limits on albacore catches in their EEZ waters.

Mr Ferral Lasi, Under Secretary (Technical) Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) speaking to the regional journalists at the WCPFC14, in Philippines. Photo: Ronald Toito’ona

Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Ferral Lasi, who also heads Solomon Islands’ WCPFC delegation, said Tokelau’s “catch-based system” which uses quotas to allocate fishing rights was in conflict with its own longline vessel day scheme (VDS).

Vessel day schemes sell fishing rights to fishing boats at a daily rate. The system has been used successfully by a group of Pacific nations under an arrangement called the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA). Fishing fleets – mostly from distant water fishing nations – can pay over US$10,000 per day to fish for skipjack tuna in PNA waters.

Under the VDS, PNA nations have seen fisheries revenue rise from US$60 million annually in 2010 to close to $500 million this year.

This year, the Cook Islands established a quota-based management system for albacore catches in its own waters, which it believes is better-suited for the fishery.

Speaking in Manila, Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources Secretary Ben Ponia said differences between the longline and purse seine fishing methods need to be considered when assessing management systems.

Issues such as higher by-catch in the longline industry and difference in stock sizes between various species of tuna also need to be taken into account.

“In some respect applying an effort control over the skipjack fishery was not a problem,” he said.

“But when you’re dealing with a much smaller stock of Albacore, or Yellowfin or Bigeye, you really need to be careful as to how much volume you are extracting.”

“It is probably easier to manage using a vessel day scheme, but ultimately what we’re trying to do is control catches, not effort,” he said.

Ben Ponia, Ministry of Marine Resources Secretary, Cook Islands.
Photo: Radio NZ

In 2015, catch value for southern albacore reached US$357 million.

Between 8-10 per cent of Albacore catches occur in Cook Islands waters, he added.

Ponia said the Cook Islands has reservations about aspects of the Tokelau Arrangement, but hasn’t formally withdrawn.

“We are prepared to engage in the Albacore fishery in a meaningful way, and we are demonstrating that I believe through our own regulations,” said Ponia.

Despite differences over management approaches towards albacore, Lasi said the primary reason Solomon Islands is pulling out of the arrangement is concern over a reduced catch allocation for his country.

“We don’t want to be constrained,” he said.

The Solomon Islands is now devising a replacement for the Tokelau arrangement, Lasi said.

“We are proposing another arrangement on top of Tokelau that will be better for everyone, including the Solomon Islands.”

Apart from Solomon Islands, signatories to the Tokelau Arrangement include: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Tuna tagging in the Pacific – Papua New Guinea

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A short movie about the latest PNG tuna tagging cruise in Jan-Mar 2012. Project funded by PNG NFA and jointly undertaken with SPC’s Oceanic Fisheries Programme.

Published on Mar 31, 2014

Survey shows focus on tuna stocks

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A survey of people interested in Pacific fisheries shows that 92% were most interested to find out more about tuna stocks in the Pacific.

97 people completed a survey about a new website being developed by the Oceanic Fisheries Management project.

The next topic of interest was finding out about fishing catch statistics.

Catching tuna in the Pacific (Photo: SPC)
Catching tuna in the Pacific (Photo: SPC)