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Slow steps towards management of the world's largest tuna fishery

Author

Listed:
  • Langley, Adam
  • Wright, Andrew
  • Hurry, Glenn
  • Hampton, John
  • Aqorua, Transform
  • Rodwell, Len

Abstract

Today, the tuna fishery of the western and central Pacific is one of the world's largest fisheries. Annual catches exceed 2 million mt--approximately 50% of the global tuna catch--with an estimated landed value of USD 3 billion (in 2005). The fishery expanded rapidly from the mid 1980s, following the development of the purse-seine fishery. From the mid 1990s, it was recognised that a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation was required to facilitate cooperation in the management of the resource. Following almost a decade of negotiations and planning, the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPFC) was established in 2004. During the interim period, stock assessments for the key tuna species were developed and revealed that for two species (yellowfin and bigeye tuna) there was concern regarding the increased levels of fishing mortality. However, declarations and resolutions calling for restraint in the expansion of fishing effort were largely unheeded over the last decade and, to date, the WCPFC has been unable to introduce any measures to effectively reduce (or limit) the level of fishing mortality on yellowfin and bigeye tuna. This paper proposes a number of mechanisms for improving the performance of the WCPFC with respect to meeting the conservation and management objectives of the commission and argues that Pacific Island nations need to collectively take the lead to ensure the effective management of the resource.

Suggested Citation

  • Langley, Adam & Wright, Andrew & Hurry, Glenn & Hampton, John & Aqorua, Transform & Rodwell, Len, 2009. "Slow steps towards management of the world's largest tuna fishery," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 271-279, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:33:y:2009:i:2:p:271-279
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Chung-Ling, 2014. "Realization of high seas enforcement by non-flag states in WCPFC: A signal for enhanced cooperative enforcement in fisheries management," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(PA), pages 162-170.
    2. Yeeting, Agnes D. & Bush, Simon R. & Ram-Bidesi, Vina & Bailey, Megan, 2016. "Implications of new economic policy instruments for tuna management in the Western and Central Pacific," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 45-52.
    3. Nooteboom, Peter D. & Scutt Phillips, Joe & Kehl, Christian & Nicol, Simon & van Sebille, Erik, 2023. "Modelling of tuna around fish aggregating devices: The importance of ocean flow and prey," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 475(C).
    4. Miller, Alice M.M. & Bush, Simon R. & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2014. "Power Europe: EU and the illegal, unreported and unregulated tuna fisheries regulation in the West and Central Pacific Ocean," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 138-145.
    5. Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan & Paul Berentsen & Simon R Bush & Larry Digal & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2016. "Fisher-Level Decision Making to Participate in Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) for Yellowfin Tuna in the Philippines," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-22, October.

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