IOTC imposes penalty for Seychelles’ yellowfin tuna fishing, formal complaint lodged

Published 2022년 1월 26일

Tridge summary

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has imposed a penalty on Seychelles by reducing its yellowfin tuna catch quota for 2022 by 9,184 tonnes, due to over-fishing by industrial longline fleets in 2020. The country's total allocation has been set at 39,542 tonnes. Seychelles has lodged a formal protest, arguing that the penalty is based on estimates for 2021, as catch data for 2020 is not due until December 30 of the following year. The government is working to submit 2021 data to have the reduced tonnage reinstated. The penalty is causing concern for the livelihoods of those dependent on the tuna fishing industry.

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

Original content

Seychelles' overall quota for yellowfin tuna catch for 2022 has been reduced by 9,184 tonnes by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) as a payback provision for over-catch in 2020 by industrial longline fleets. Under IOTC Resolution 21/01, Seychelles qualified for a total yellowfin tuna allocation of 39,542 tonnes for 2022, covering catch from all fleets registered in the island state - purse seiners, industrial longliners and semi-industrial longliners. The principal secretary for fisheries, Roy Clarisse, told SNA that Seychelles lodged a formal objection to the IOTC chairperson on January 5. He said that while the payback penalty is based on confirmed data submitted by the island state to the IOTC Secretariat, "it is also based on estimates made by the IOTC Secretariat for 2021, whereby it is assumed that this fleet segment has over-caught the same amount as they did in 2020." This is because final catch data for industrial longline vessels are not reported to the commission ...

Source: All Africa