Three years after the last in-person annual meeting, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) met in Vale do Lobo (Algarve, Portugal) November 14-21, 2022 to take important decisions on the regulation of ICCAT fisheries, including a novel management procedure for bluefin tuna; the first adopted harvest strategy in ICCAT history for this species, and a new conservation measure for South Atlantic shortfin mako shark.
The meeting was attended by over 400 in-person delegates and 250 more online, from 47 Contracting parties, 5 Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties, 6 intergovernmental organizations, 26 Non-Governmental Organizations and 2 Non-Contracting Parties
The Commission convened to evaluate the results of the 2022 work plan together with the current status of application of the regulatory measures in force and to establish the conservation and management measures for the future. In 2022, full scientific stock assessments were carried out for four species: eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), eastern and western skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and North Eastern Atlantic porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus).
In total, 13 new Recommendations and 4 Resolutions were adopted covering relevant issues on Atlantic tuna and tuna-like species conservation and fisheries management. ICCAT has for the first time in its history adopted a management procedure for Atlantic bluefin tuna. This novel measure, which is the result of the extensive collaboration among scientists, managers and stakeholders, should ensure long-term, sustainable and profitable fisheries of both the western stock and eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock. The TAC set for the period 2023- 2025 was set as 2,726 and 40,570 metric tons for western and eastern Atlantic (and Mediterranean) stocks, respectively.
Regarding albacore tuna, the Commission adopted a plan for Mediterranean albacore, which implements a 15-year rebuilding plan until 2036, that establishes a TAC of 2,500 t. In addition, ICCAT adopted catch limits for southern Atlantic albacore for the period 2023 to 2026, that includes a TAC of 28,000 t for the period 2023 to 2026.
Albeit the extensive discussions regarding multi-annual conservation and management programme for tropical tunas, no progress was achieved. Therefore, an agreement was reached for a simple rollover of the current measures, which implies a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for bigeye tuna of 62,000 t for 2023 and the 72-day FAD fishing closure. The annual TAC for yellowfin will remain at 110,000 t. In addition, in order to reduce the fishing mortality of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tuna, a 72-day fishing closure and the limitation on the use of FADs in 2023 were also kept.
The ICCAT Chair, Mr. Ernesto Penas, urged ICCAT Contracting Parties to continue bilateral or multilateral consultations to overcome some of the difficulties inherent to the most relevant issues that will be addressed in the 2023 Commission meetings.Source:
Press Release Extract ICCAT
