Latest Fishing Headlines September 13, 2018

A Recap of the 2018 IATTC Annual Meeting The  Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission  (IATTC) recently concluded its  93rd Annual Meeting  in San Diego, addressing some of ISSF’s  key recommendations such as strengthening the measures for non-entangling  fish aggregating devices  (FADs), stronger protections for human  fisheries  observers, and expanding the use of vessel  IMO  numbers. The Eastern Pacific management body was coming off a successful 2017 meeting — where the IATTC adopted a 72-day fishery closure and passed a resolution to make the use of  non-entangling FADs mandatory. The IATTC continued its progress this year by taking action on many of the  “asks” made by ISSF and WWF . But there were some disappointing misses on improvements to FAD data submission protocols, the protection of sharks and sea turtles, and increased  observer coverage  for the  longline fleet . Continue reading here (Source: International Seafood Sustainability Foundation).

Hawaiian Longline Operations Accept $475,000 MARPOL Fine  The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Coast Guard have reached a consent decree with Hawaii-based operator Asure Fishery over the discharge of oily waste from a commercial longliner. It is the fourth MARPOL enforcement action that the USCG has brought against a Hawaiian longline fishing firm this year.  In a federal complaint filed last Friday, federal prosecutors alleged that the tuna longliner Jaxon T was not equipped for the treatment or storage of oily bilge waste under way, and she often discharged these wastes at sea. The complaint alleges that company managers Khang Quang Dang and Hanh Thi Nguyen had reason to know that the vessel lacked proper equipment for handling oily waste, but still allowed it to sail.  According to the complaint, the bulkhead separating the Jaxon T's engine room from the fish hold had penetrations that allowed "free flow of fluids" between the two compartments. Apart from the potential safety implications of this arrangement, "substantial" amounts of water from melted ice would flow into the engine room, where it would raise the level of the water in the bilge. To address this problem, the crew would allegedly pump the bilge water directly over the side using a portable electric water pump, "one or more times per day." Continue reading here (Source: Maritime Executive).

Japan Fails to Win Approval to Increase Tuna Catch Quotas Japan failed to win approval at an international fisheries meeting for its proposals to increase overall catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna. The proposals were supported by Taiwan and South Korea but opposed by the United States and the Cook Islands. States in opposition said that it’s too early to expand quotas as the numbers of such tuna are still extremely small. The proposals called for a 15 percent increase each in catch quotas for small tuna weighing less than 30 kilograms and for larger tuna. They were put forward at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s Northern Committee, where any proposal requires unanimous approval. Continue reading here (Source: Japan Times).

Huge Grant from Europe to Help Save Pacific Ocean Four key regional agencies have signed a deal with the European Union to help promote sustainable management and sound ocean governance in the Pacific. The agencies, the Forum Fisheries Agency, the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the University of the South Pacific, have signed the deal this week in Nauru. Called, the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership Programme, it will address, among other things, the depletion of fish resources and the threat to marine biodiversity, including climate change and disasters. EU representative Jean-Louis Ville said there was an urgent need to act. Continue reading here (Source: Radio New Zealand).

Multinational Cooperation Targets and Catches Suspected Illegal Fishers in the Pacific Ocean Australia will help the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency with a new aerial surveillance program to fight illegal fishing. Pacific countries will now get 1,400 hours of extra aerial surveillance a year through the use of two aircraft outfitted with state of the art sensor avionics and communications technology. The agency said the aircraft would only operate in a participating member's Exclusive Economic Zone if they requested it. The planes will be based in Samoa and Vanuatu. The agency's Tevita Tupou said currently Australia, New Zealand, France and the US provided it with 400 hours of aerial surveillance. Continue reading here (Source: Radio New Zealand).

Philippines to Implement More Stringent Tuna Conservation Measures The government will implement more stringent conservation measures to ensure the proper management of the country’s dwindling tuna resources. Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona, national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said these mechanisms were set in the updated National Tuna Management Plan (NTMP) of 2018. The agency formally launched and endorsed the new management plan to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol here on Thursday morning after over two years of studies and consultations with concerned sectors. “It is a comprehensive road map towards a sustainably -managed and equitably allocated tuna fisheries in the country,” he said during the launching ceremony at the opening of the 20th National Tuna Congress. Continue reading here (Source: Minda News).

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