US: Ahead of ICCAT meeting, NGOs call for better harvest strategies for Atlantic bigeye, yellowfin tuna fisheries

Ahead of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas’ (ICCAT) meeting, which will run from 13 to 20 November in Cairo, Egypt, an array of NGOs are calling on the regional fishery management council to improve management practices and develop a plan to rebuild the stocks of overfished bigeye and yellowfin tuna fisheries.ICCAT meets annually to discuss management members for tuna and tuna-like species, which includes sailfish, blue marlin, swordfish, several species of shark, and more. Before the meeting, environmental NGOs regularly put out calls for action to the commission; last year, The Pew Charitable Trusts pushed for the adoption of a harvest strategy for bluefin tuna. This year, multiple NGOs and groups representing retailers are calling on the commission to establish a strategy to rebuild the Atlantic bigeye tuna stock, to maintain yellowfin tuna stocks within the total allowable catch (TAC), and establish a management procedure for skipjack tuna. ...