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MSC: 'Central western Pacific tuna fisheries at risk of suspension'

The decisive meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Regional Fisheries Organization has ended without achieving the necessary progress to guarantee, in the long term, sustainable tuna fishing in the region, however, the delegations of the countries still have time to act and ensure ongoing certification of the South Pacific skipjack and albacore fisheries.

Twenty-eight fisheries in the Western Central Pacific (WCPO) region face the increasing risk of having their certification under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard for sustainable fisheries suspended following the disappointing result of the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (hereinafter WCPFC) held this month.

The 28 tuna fisheries with MSC certification of the WCPO have to meet the conditions for improvement of their certification within the established deadlines, which require adopting capture strategies before June 2023.

Catch strategies, rules that control the long-term management of fish populations, act as a “safety net” in the event of a decline in abundance of current populations that are in a healthy state. They are, in turn, essential for managing fisheries properly and decisive for the future health of fish populations, especially in the case of migratory species that cross geopolitical borders such as tuna.

This week's meeting of the 26 WCPFC member delegations was a critical opportunity to move forward and develop the science-based management measures and agreements required to meet these conditions.

However, they decided to postpone negotiations on harvest strategies until December 2022, in the case of skipjack and albacore tuna in the South Pacific, and until 2024 for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Despite this lack of progress, the commission did agree to hold a two-day meeting in August 2022 between scientists and managers in which a proposal on capture strategies could emerge in time for the December 2022 appointment.

Therefore, as long as an agreement is reached at the December 2022 meeting and the corresponding catch strategies are adopted, the validity of the certification for skipjack and albacore tuna could be extended beyond June 2023. However As a result of the postponement until 2024 for the WCPFC to adopt new capture strategies for the yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna fisheries, it is increasingly likely that in June 2023 the auditors will suspend the fisheries their certificates for these tuna stocks.

This slow progress is going to be discouraging for distributors, traders and other companies in the supply chain that have committed to sourcing tuna that meet the highest standards of environmental performance. To highlight the importance given to MSC certification, last October, 112 companies wrote (note in English) to the heads of the WCPFC Delegation demanding that they speed up their actions and develop comprehensive capture strategies that they will encompass all tuna populations. These requests have been supported by the World Tuna Alliance, an independent group of distributors and companies in the tuna supply chain, whose purchase volume in 2020 amounted to about € 1.125 million.

Tuna from the WCPO constitutes more than half of the world's commercial value tuna catches, making these tuna stocks the most important in the world. Currently, 85% of all MSC certified tuna comes from the WCPO. 78% of the MSC certified tuna caught at the WCPO is skipjack. The volume of tuna-based products for sale with the MSC Blue Seal has increased significantly in the last 5 years, from 40,000 to 110,000 tonnes.

The growing demand for certified sustainable seafood has driven and various improvements in fishing practices in the region. For example, fisheries such as the albacore and yellowfin tuna in Fiji have taken a number of measures to reduce bycatch. This fishery, which is dedicated to longline tuna fishing, has replaced the steel lines that can accidentally trap sharks with monofilament lines that can bite and break free and fishes in deeper waters to avoid them. It has also improved transparency and accountability thanks to the use of electronic monitoring systems and the installation of on-board cameras on more than 50 of its ships.

MSC joins the request to the WCPFC to take concrete steps to advance the adoption of harvest strategies at its scientific management meeting, recently scheduled for August, and at the regular meetings of its scientific and technical compliance committee, and that in the next December 2022 plenary session agree and adopt capture strategies. MSC in turn calls on all those interested in the long-term sustainable management of our oceans to support this initiative. Failure not only means that these fisheries lose their MSC certification, but it also raises questions about the long-term health of the WCPO tuna and forces buyers to find another source in order to fulfill their commitment to sourcing sustainably.

Rupert Howes, Executive Director of the Marine Stewardship Council said: “The outcome of this week's WCPFC meeting is disappointing for fisheries, distributors, traders and supply chain companies who have worked hard to achieve and maintain the standard. sustainability so high that it requires MSC certification. The unprecedented support from supermarkets and tuna traders around the world for these fisheries to retain their ongoing MSC certifications is proof of the growing market demand and their commitment to continue sourcing sustainable seafood products, to despite the economic pressures and the effects of the current pandemic. MSC certification offers the guarantees that the market demands. MSC encourages all those committed to achieving sustainable fishing in our oceans and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the oceans, to urge their governments and delegations to do everything possible. for accelerating the development and adoption of harvest control strategies and rules that support sustainable fisheries management ”.

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