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Will the countries catching Pacific saury cooperate to save the fishery?

This week, as the 19th Scientific Committee (SC) of WCPFC convenes, a new study can help inform the ongoing evaluation of proposed management measures for skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

The sound of the gavel at the Commission’s conclusion ushered in a new era of sustainable fisheries management for the eastern Pacific. IATTC has now joined the club of other tRFMOs that have applied MSE and harvest strategies for their fisheries, and a growing community of RFMOs that are formalizing their focus on climate change.

Pacific fishery managers just received a dose of good news: The management procedure for skipjack tuna – the largest tuna fishery in the world – was run for the first time and works as expected.

Next week, IATTC’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) will convene for its 14th annual meeting to discuss and finalize scientific recommendations to the upcoming Commission meeting where measures can be adopted. 

On May 2nd, World Tuna Day celebrates the day in 2016 that governments around the world publicly agreed on the need to manage tuna stocks sustainably, emphasizing the importance of conservation management.