The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) recently wrapped its annual meeting. Since the majority of the world’s tuna catch is sourced from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), the gathering is always highly anticipated and closely watched.
This year’s meeting brought some positive outcomes for Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries, including a harvest control rule for North Pacific albacore, the adoption of an updated tropical tuna conservation measure, and moderate progress on electronic monitoring and observer coverage.
But the Commission’s work fell far short in other areas, especially regarding increasing transparency in WCPFC compliance assessment processes and improving fish aggregating device (FAD) management.
ISSF urged action on these priority topics, among others, this year. Here is a review of the outcomes of the WCPFC meeting against our organization’s most critical asks.
No WCPO tuna stocks are overfished or experiencing overfishing. Yet managers must continue to adopt precautionary and scientifically rigorous management measures to keep these stocks at healthy levels.
To achieve that this year, WCPFC needed to respond to the outcomes of its management procedures (MP) — or harvest strategies — for skipjack tuna and North Pacific albacore. Specifically, WCPFC needed to (1) translate the outputs of the skipjack management procedure into fishing catch-and-effort controls contained in the tropical tuna measure, and (2) adopt a harvest control rule for North Pacific albacore tuna.
We are pleased that the Commission made progress on both fronts. But we are hesitant to label the updated tropical tuna measure a “win” because its full impact on tuna stocks and WCPO ecosystems in general is difficult to predict, especially considering certain existing WCPFC management gaps.
For example, the new measure reduces FAD closures for purse seine vessels, while allowing for increases in bigeye tuna catch for longline vessels. To properly gauge consequences for tuna stock health, such changes to fishing effort and catch limits must be accompanied by robust monitoring, detailed data collection, and strong RFMO member compliance — areas that are weak for some WCPFC fleets.
We cannot be certain how these elements will impact the longer-term stock status of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, not to mention non-target species like oceanic whitetip and silky sharks, both of which are currently subject to overfishing. ISSF will therefore be carefully analyzing these changes going forward.
Overall, the WCPFC meeting provided mixed results. Many difficult issues were pushed to discussions in future years, perpetuating complex challenges that critically require action. WCPFC has been seen as a leader in tuna fisheries management. We are hopeful that 2024 will bring a renewed and stronger spirit of collaboration to face these complex issues. We will continue our engagement throughout the region for the sustainable use of the world’s largest tuna fisheries and protections for the broader marine ecosystem.