WCPFC fails yet again to save south pacific tuna stocks

This week's meeting of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Hawaii saw strong interventions among powerful fishing nations - such as Japan and the EU - on the urgent need to, at a mimimum, freeze the fishing capacity of purse seine super fleets and fishing pressure across the entire region, targeting the most stressed stocks of tropical tunas.

But despite these interventions and support from other significant fishing nations like the US, the WCPFC ultimately stuck to the familiar course of throwing overboard scientific counsel, failing again to adopt measures heeding the advice of its own Scientific Committee which recommended an immediate 29 per cent reduction in fishing mortality of big eye tuna.

"Once again we see the WCPFC failing to heed its own scientific advice and condemning the region's most stressed tuna stocks to another year of overfishing," said Peter Trott, Fisheries Program Manager with WWF-Australia.

"I have never seen such strong support from big fishing nations on the need to reduce pressure on big eye and other stressed stocks, but this was still not enough to make any real progress on halting the decline of these species."

In a few positive developments, the WCPFC meeting saw unprecedented agreement on the development of a shark research plan and the need to address shark mortality in the region by introducing greater monitoring and reporting of shark catches. The group also adopted a conservation measure for heavily fished Northern Bluefin tuna, agreed in principle with all Kobe II bycatch and management recommendations. Finally, the Commission agreed to conduct an independent review of its own performance, a commitment that was made years ago but never even started.

"This level of agreement on shark catch has been one of only a few progressive steps taken at this year's meeting and we hope it will help better inform, and stop the decline of key shark species within the region," Mr Trott said.

But the credibility of the WCPFC was undermined by its inability to take real action on the decline of the region's most valuable tuna species, passing an absurd conservation measure for overfished striped marlin that actually allows the catch to increase as pointed out by the Commission's scientific advisor. This performance places the WCPFC in the lowest ranks of other dysfunctional tuna Regional Fisheries Management Offices (RFMOs) that have also failed to adhere to science.

"The WCPFC meeting in Hawaii demonstrated that its most powerful fishing members are ringing the alarm bells for the regions tuna stocks, calling out for urgent action on the Commission's most critical issues," Mr Trott said.

"Unfortunately the Commission still lacks the teeth required to meet its responsibilities in terms of conservation and sustainability."

WWF is advocating for consideration of a Rights Based Management framework, cuts to fishing effort and capacity from the industrial super purse seine sector, and care regarding initiatives that could largely have the effect of displacing rather than reducing fishing effort.

"Most importantly however, the WCPFC should take heed of its contribution to the failures of global fishing regulation and be prepared to set the example in terms of following the scientific advice, ensuring conservation and sustainability of the tuna resources which will ultimately lead to improved social and economic conditions," Mr Trott said.