Pacific skipjack may lose MSC certification if WCPFC management procedure proposal fails

Thirty-three Marine Stewardship Council-certified tuna fisheries in the region managed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) may lose certification if the WCPFC fails to adopt management procedures at its upcoming 19th Regular Session, scheduled to take place in Da Nang, Vietnam from 28 November to 3 December, 2022.

The WCPFC is a regional fishery management organization (RFMO) that manages highly migratory fish stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. At the upcoming meeting, the WCPFC is expected to consider a proposal to adopt a management procedure for skipjack tuna. WCPFC members previously made a commitment to adopting a management procedure in the future, but has not yet put one into practice.

The management procedure proposal met objections during the August meeting of the science management dialogue from the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), comprised of eight Pacific Island countries and territory of Tokelau, which collectively copntrol some of the world’s most-productive skipjack fishing grounds. The PNA is seeking to delay implementation of a skipjack harvest strategy for …

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