A meeting of regional fisheries organizations to analyze the Spanish tuna fleet’s management model of fish aggregating devices (FADs) was held in Madrid on April 19-21, the Spanish frozen tuna producers’ organization (Opagac) said.
The organizations, taking into account the importance of FAD fisheries in the Indian, Atlantic and Eastern Pacific oceans and their contribution to food security, are looking for a FAD management model. The model promoted by Opagac could become the benchmark, according to the Spanish organization.
The meeting was led by the directorate general for fisheries of the European Commission DG Mare and the FAO ABNJ program, and organized by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, with the objective to study the possibilities to harmonize the FAD management model in the geographic areas that it regulates.
The Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, which represent more than 30 countries, also attended the event.
During the meeting the first buoy with species and size classification, developed by the Spanish company Satlink, was also shown.
The new device allows to determine biomass size of tropical tuna populations and their composition. which helps to comply with set quotas.
These new buoys will be central to the activity of the Spanish tuna fleet in the Indian Ocean, where the IOTC has set a 15% reduction in catches of yellowfin tuna, according to Opagac.
During the meeting, the Spanish tuna fleet has insisted that the sustainability of tropical tuna fisheries must take into account FAD management, but must also consider other aspects such as control of other fisheries or transshipments.
“FAD management is fundamental and requires a homogeneous standard for the different regional fisheries organizations. However, [it] can not be the sole element of management since there is a risk that the application of exclusive measures for the reduction of catches with FADs will lead to an increase in the effort of other types of fishing with the consequent risk for the species,” Opagac’s manager, Julio Moron, said.
Opagac invests 20% of its research and development budget on the improvement of its fishing activity’s selectivity. Moreover, it has set up on a voluntary basis initiatives aimed at promoting the sustainability of the resources exploited on the basis of a code of good practice, whose requirements are in many cases beyond the standards set by the regional fisheries organizations.
The code of food practice includes FAD design instructions, so that they are not enmeshing and thus minimize by-catches. If they occur, the code sets a series of release protocols.
2017 Undercurrent News