IATTC leaves tropical tuna unmanaged as meeting fails to reach consensus by one vote

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) has failed to reach a consensus on the management of tropical tunas by one vote – with Colombia opposing the resolution – leaving tuna fisheries without any rules starting on 1 January.

The tropical tuna fishery – which includes bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks – includes billions of dollars of catch. With the failure to reach a consensus – the first time in the IATTC’s history – the fishery is left without any form of management, including quotas, gear types, and more. While individual countries can choose to implement regulations matching the proposed IATTC resolution, region-wide rules will end.

Immediately after the failure of the IATTC to continue its current management into 2021, multiple non-governmental organizations – such at The Pew Charitable Trusts and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) – sharply criticized the lack of action.

“For the first time in its 70-year history, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission has completely withdrawn from management of tropical tunas,” The Pew Charitable Trusts Director of International Fisheries Amanda Nickson said in a release.

The lack of management stems from the IATTC failing to enact resolution 17-02 for tropical tuna species.

“Despite the clear scientific advice to, at a minimum, keep these provisions intact, the objection of one party blocked their extension,” the ISSF said. “As a result, the sustainability of the region’s tropical tuna fisheries and marine ecosystems is now at risk.”

Meetings of all regional fishery management organizations have had to be moved online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the challenges, the IATTC managed to enact other management changes – specifically, a new resolution establishing minimum standards for electronic monitoring.

"IATTC was able to make critical progress towards electronic monitoring, a much-needed step to help improve oversight of fishing vessel activity – demonstrating that, even during virtual meetings, governments can reach important agreements," Pew said in a statement.

With a failure to act on any management issue, the future of any Marine Stewardship Council-certified species in the region is “is now uncertain,” The Pew Charitable Trusts said. It also brings into question the efficacy of RFMOs.

“It’s clear that business as usual is not working and that regional fisheries management organizations such as IATTC need to urgently modernize their approach to management. When meeting participants can’t reach consensus, the default should never be to simply suspend management of species,” Nickson said. “The issues with RFMOs go beyond IATTC and stem from management approaches that aren’t robust enough to handle unexpected challenges. The need to responsibly manage fish stocks worldwide calls out for significant reforms in the predictability and stability of decision-making, including a modernized system of pre-agreed decision frameworks known as harvest strategies; enhanced transparency of vessel activity through expanded observer coverage and transshipment reform; and greater accountability by adopting measures to improve compliance with existing rules and to end and prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.”

Later this week, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) will be meeting to decide the fate on another set of tuna stocks, with many of the same countries participating in the meeting.

“The lack of protections for tropical tunas in the eastern Pacific makes it even more critical that WCPFC agrees to roll over its existing measure and keep these stocks on a sustainable path, which would include committing to harvest strategies and electronic monitoring,” Nickson said. “If WCPFC also fails to reach consensus on a measure, tropical tunas in the entire Pacific Ocean basin would be left unmanaged, threatening the viability of these USD 24 billion [EUR 19.8 billion] fisheries and the already tenuous status of many vulnerable populations that are impacted by these fisheries.” 

Photo courtesy of Frans Delian/Shutterstock