World: IOTC adopts rules for FADs, but Indian Ocean yellowfin still facing overfishing

Published 2024년 5월 22일

Tridge summary

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has failed to implement new measures to control yellowfin tuna fishing at its recent meeting, despite the species being overfished since 2015. Instead, the meeting focused on new management measures for Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), which include a new definition of biodegradable FADs and a transition to using only biodegradable devices. However, the European tuna-fishing fleet has expressed concerns over these new rules, arguing they are unfair and could threaten their sustainability. Meanwhile, the ISSF and the Blue Marine Foundation have criticized the IOTC's inaction on yellowfin tuna overfishing and highlighted the deterioration of the skipjack tuna stock due to overfishing. The Global Tuna Alliance and some partners have stopped sourcing yellowfin tuna from the Indian Ocean in protest.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) recently concluded its 28th session, with the commission adding new measures to the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) but, once again, failing to adopt any improvements to curtail yellowfin tuna fishing. The meeting – which ran from 13 to 17 May in Bangkok, Thailand – resulted in the IOTC adopting a new management measure for FADs covering a number of different best practices. NGOs like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the World Wide Fund for Nature have called for more rules regarding the devices, especially after the commission failed to reach any agreement on drifting FADs (dFADs) in 2023.This time, according to the ISSF, the IOTC has launched a management measure that includes a new definition of biodegradable FADs and a timeline for transitioning to using only biodegradable devices, an FAD register for monitoring devices throughout the IOTC’s management area, an FAD marking scheme, FAD ...

Source: Seafoodsource