IOTC removes penalty on Seychelles’ yellowfin tuna catch quota and adopts harvest strategy for bigeye species

Seychelles' yellowfin tuna quota rises to 37,000 tonnes for 2022 as all members of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) have approved the island nation's interpretation of a payback provision imposed initially. The decision was made during the 26th session of the IOTC held in Seychelles from May 16-20. IOTC had previously reduced the overall quota for yellowfin tuna catch for Seychelles by 9,184 tonnes at the beginning of 2022 as a payback provision for over-catch in 2020 by industrial longline fleets. The payback penalty was based on confirmed data submitted by Seychelles to the IOTC Secretariat. It was also based on estimates made by the Secretariat for 2021 on the assumption that Seychelles' industrial longliner fleet had over-caught the same amount as they did in 2020. The principal secretary for fisheries, Roy Clarisse, told reporters on Monday that now "the secretariat will have to publish another list to replace the one where it was stated that we will have to deduct ...