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Madrid - The Spanish tuna fleet, which has operated in tropical tuna fishing grounds since the 1960s, defends that the so-called capture rules1 whose adoption is being promoted by the Regional Fisheries Organizations (RFOs) that regulate this fishery in the three main oceans, will not be effective if they do not integrate, in addition to the catch limits for the three species of tropical tunas, distribution criteria that attribute quotas to each country, according to their historical rights, and control and penalty mechanisms in case of non-compliance. .

 

The Spanish tuna fleet, grouped in the Organization of Associated Producers of Large Freezer Tuna Vessels (OPAGAC), defends this comprehensive management model, since it makes it easier to make stock management decisions years in advance, compared to current management models. The latter require long discussions between scientists and managers to adopt measures that, according to the fleet, in most cases do not guarantee the long-term sustainability of tuna populations.

 

Likewise, the fleet values that resource management takes into account circumstances external to the fisheries themselves, such as the effects of climate change, and its impact on the abundance of stocks and the dynamics of the fisheries. Likewise, the fleet recognizes that catch rules provide added value to marketing, as they are an essential condition for access to certain sustainable certification programs, such as the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council).

 

The fleet especially supports comprehensive management of the three tropical tuna stocks (yellowfin, skipjack and bigeye) through control rules that align with the reality of said stocks, captured jointly in each fishing operation. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have adopted comprehensive measures that limit fishing effort, which has guaranteed the sustainability of the three species. over the years, compared to the option of individualized management with allocation of Total Allowable Catches for each species, adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). ) with results that have not had the same success.

 

This position of the Spanish tuna fleet has been presented by Miguel Herrera, deputy manager of OPAGAC, in an informative workshop on capture control strategies, organized within the framework of the “Common Oceans” project of the United Nations Organization for the Food and Development, in his presentation “Benefits and Challenges of Capture Control Strategies”.

 

 

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