In focusing on the recovery plan for bluefin tuna, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has failed to show during its 25th annual meeting adequate discourse for tropical tunas, regrets the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF). The group points out that given the growing pressure on these tuna stocks, during the ICCAT member countries’ latest gathering, held in Marrakech, Morocco,a number of countries put forward a proposal to limit the overharvesting of both yellowfin and bigeye tuna. “South Africa is very worried about what’s happening in the ICCAT tropical tuna fishery. These fisheries are important for countries all around the Atlantic, but certain fleets are driving unsustainable catches. When you look at the statistics, it is pretty clear what has been happening, and our proposal simply attempted to put on the brakes, so we are not in a more difficult situation next year, pointed out Asanda Njobeni, head of the South African Delegation who took the lead on the proposal states. In this regard, the IPLNLF stressed that over the last several years, industrial fleets have flooded the fishery, increasing the pressure on the Atlantic’s tropical tuna stocks and that purse seine catches of yellowfin tuna alone have increased by 98 per cent over the past ten years. The NGO claimed that while some of the biggest fleets are capped in an attempt to keep harvests within sustainable levels, there is a loophole that allows vessels to be re-flagged to other countries to get around such limits. The South African proposal, which was officially co-sponsored by Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and Uruguay would have capped the numbers of such vessels as well as the use of drifting FADs and supply vessels – key tools that increase the harvest of juvenile yellowfin and bigeye tuna by large catching vessels. On the other hand, the IPNLF highlighted that from the perspective of many of the stakeholders in the Azores one-by-one tuna fishery, the meeting was a major disappointment. “The future of artisanal and sustainable fisheries is bleak if ICCAT continues to fail us. Europe’s outermost regions, like the Azores and Madeira, use the most selective fishing methods and employ lots of people, however we have no voice with our own decision makers. We are very worried about bigeye tuna and the future of our fishermen, said Pedro Capela, from the pole-and-line boatowner’s association in the Azores. For his part, Adam Baske, Policy & Outreach Director of IPNLF, reflected on the ICCAT meeting: “We came here hoping that all members would be willing to address the obvious threats to sustainability of the Atlantic’s most valuable tuna fishery, and unfortunately the willingness was not there. ICCAT countries are taking a risky approach by putting off actions to protect their most valuable stocks, and I predict that we will be back next year, addressing the same issues, but to a more severe degree. Nevertheless, the IPNLF recognises that ICCAT did adopt a harvest control rule for north Atlantic albacore tuna, which is a key species for one-by-one fishermen in northern Spain, and the pre-agreed rules mean this stock now meets international best-practice, along with the skipjack tuna fishery in the Maldives. IPNLF highlights that the Atlantic Ocean is home to over USD 1 billion worth of tuna caught using a variety of fishing methods, ranging from bamboo poles to nets larger than a city block. The Atlantic’s tuna fisheries provide food for many communities, create jobs in processing plants and fuel an international market for fresh, frozen, and tinned tuna products. The job of maintaining the balance between different user groups, while also keeping the fishing stocks healthy belongs to the ICCAT.