Tuna Fishing Regulations, Sustainability and Conservation

Tuna are large, versatile fish that inhabit tropical and temperate oceans around the world. Valued for their meat, tuna support lucrative commercial fisheries as well as recreational angling. However, many tuna species suffer from overfishing and face sustainability issues.

Robust regulations that promote responsible fishing practices are essential for maintaining tuna populations. This article explores tuna fishing regulations, sustainability efforts, and conservation initiatives in key regions.

Key Takeaways

• Tuna are commercially vital yet threatened migratory fish requiring international cooperation to sustainably manage.
• Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) establish catch limits, quotas and conservation measures for tuna fishing nations.
• Several tuna species suffer from overexploitation and face population declines without better fisheries management.
• Issues like overfishing, bycatch, and illegal fishing hinder rebuilding sustainable global tuna stocks.
• Certifying and rewarding responsible tuna fishing methods helps promote environmental best practices.
• Stronger monitoring control and enforcement mechanisms are still needed to improve compliance with regulations.
• Tuna-rich developing coastal states often lack capacity to fully implement tuna management plans, warranting increased support.
• Rights-based fishing and territorial use rights promise to further motivate resource stewardship.
• Despite remaining challenges, substantial progress towards long-term tuna sustainability is evident through strengthened policies, innovations and market influence.

Overview of Target Tuna Species

Several tuna species support large-scale fisheries and are managed under distinct regulatory frameworks:

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus): Highly prized for sashimi and sushi with commercial value over $1000 per fish. Two separate stocks exist – the western Atlantic and eastern Atlantic/Mediterranean populations. Both remain overfished with spawning rates well below target levels.

Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus): Inhabits tropical and subtropical waters across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Approximately 80% ends up canned while higher quality bigeye is sold for sashimi. Global catches exceed recommended levels.

Skipjack Tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis): The most commonly canned light tuna. Skipjack tuna stocks remain generally healthy worldwide due to their high reproduction rates, though the Indian Ocean fishery requires more cautious management.

Albacore (Thunnus alalunga): Sometimes marketed as “white tuna,” albacore’s light flesh has significant canned and fresh market value. Both North and South Pacific albacore stocks seem capable of supporting current catch rates.

Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares): One of the most popular species for fresh tuna dishes, though also widely canned. Yellowfin stocks show signs of declining abundance in the Indian Ocean and some Atlantic regions.

International Management and Regional Fisheries Bodies

Because tuna are highly migratory species, no single nation can effectively manage tuna stocks alone. International cooperation through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) aims to facilitate sustainable tuna fishing across boundaries. There are currently five RFMOs worldwide:

• ICCAT: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – responsible for tunas in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas like the Mediterranean.
• IATTC: Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) – Manages tuna fisheries in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
• WCPFC: Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) – Covers the western and central tropical Pacific region, representing over 60% of global tuna catch.
• CCSBT: Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) – Responsible solely for managing southern bluefin tuna throughout its migration range.
• IOTC: Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) – Governs tuna fishing in the Indian Ocean.

These RFMOs consist of member countries that collaborate to assess tuna populations, set catch limits or quotas, and enforce fishery regulations. However, some critics argue RFMOs frequently set tuna catch limits too high to allow full stock recovery. There also remains insufficient monitoring and control mechanisms to prevent illegal fishing in many regions.

Sustainability Concerns and Conservation Initiatives

With global tuna consumption rising, promoting sustainable fisheries is crucial for balancing commercial demand with keeping stocks healthy. However, the 2019 IUCN Red List reports 7 of the 8 principal market tuna species as vulnerable or threatened.

Key sustainability issues include:

• Overfishing: Catches exceeding maximum sustainable yields, declining species abundance
• Bycatch: Non-target species unintentionally caught by tuna fishing vessels
• IUU Fishing: Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing hampering conservation efforts

In light of these challenges, substantial work remains to ensure robust international management that rebuilds overexploited populations.

Major initiatives aiming to promote tuna sustainability include:

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification

The MSC‘s independent auditors have certified 20 major tuna fisheries worldwide as sustainable and well-managed as of 2023. Certified fisheries must monitor their impacts on tuna stocks and ecosystems to maintain the MSC label. Chain of custody standards also trace seafood back to certified sustainable sources.

Pole and Line/Troll Caught Tuna

Unlike size-selective fishing gears like longlines or purse seines, one-by-one methods like pole and line or trolling offer much lower ecosystem impacts. Targeting free-swimming tuna schools also avoids associations with fish aggregating devices that facilitate overfishing.

Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) Management

Since floating FADs attract tuna worldwide, new restrictions aim to reduce the sheer number of FADs, establish tracking systems, enforce no-fishing zones around FADs, and promote designs causing less ecosystem damage.

Bycatch Mitigation

Improving fishing selectivity and gear modifications shows promise for reducing unintended bycatch, especially endangered sea turtles and seabirds. Changing hook shapes, streamer line attachments, and strict safe handling/release protocols help lower collateral impacts.

Rights-Based Management Systems

Allocating dedicated catch quotas and secure fishing rights motivates fishery participants to utilize resources more responsibly and plan long-term. Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURF) also grant collectives dedicated access to manage local areas.

Regional Tuna Fishing Regulations and Policies

While RFMOs establish baseline catch limits, quotas, and management plans – additional tuna fishing laws apply within sovereign national waters. Regulatory variations exist across prominent tuna fishing areas:

Atlantic Ocean

Regional tuna management falls under dual jurisdictions – ICCAT internationally and the NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division (HMSMD) domestically. All commercial and recreational fishermen targeting tuna in US Atlantic waters must acquire HMS permits and follow strict reporting requirements.

Regulations include:

• Mandatory circle hooks to reduce bycatch mortality
• Minimum size limits for landed bluefin (27-73” depending on category)
• Quotas and cap limits for certain tuna species
• Limited entry for some fishery segments
• Spatial closures, gear and sector restrictions

Atlantic tuna policies also continue to evolve with seasonal openings/closures, state licenses, protected habitat zones, and other measures.

Pacific Ocean

In the Eastern Pacific, IATTC works with partners to manage stocks shared between North/South American EEZs. These tuna frequent highly productive tropical waters, attracting extensive commercial fleets.

While populations seem generally stable, concerns persist over bigeye tuna exploitation rates along with bycatch of sea turtles and sharks. Among ways Pacific states regulate their tuna fisheries:

• Full retention requirements to reduce at-sea discards
• Observer coverage up to 100% on larger vessels
• Time/area closures, gear limitations
• Logbook mandates to report catch/effort data

Within their EEZs, strong policies from Coastal States like Ecuador, USA and Mexico also aim to limit exploitation while supporting domestic fishing interests.

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) represents the world’s largest tuna fishery, catching over 2.5 million tonnes annually. The WCPFC crafts conservation measures applied on the high seas and within member country waters. But tuna-rich Pacific Island nations also enforce national regulations and management plans.

WCPO tuna policies feature:

• High seas pocket closures, FAD restrictions
• Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACCs) apportioned to nations
• Vessel monitoring systems, extensive observer coverage
• Harmonized minimum terms and conditions for foreign fishing access

Despite progress, IUU fishing coupled with insufficient capacity hinders full implementation of WCPFC programs by Small Island Developing States.

Indian Ocean

While piracy issues, inadequate monitoring control, and lack of compliance data trouble the Indian Ocean tuna scene, positive steps continue through the IOTC. A key regional concern remains rampant illegal fishing by intruding fleets from China and other distant water fishing powers.

To improve sustainability, Indian Ocean coastal states have implemented:

• Mandatory 5% observer coverage on large purse seiners
• Satellite-based VMS vessel tracking requirements
• Spatial closures to protect juveniles and spawning habitat

Further adopting precautionary reference points, rights-based regimes, capacity control, and MSC certification represent other ways to better safeguard Indian Ocean tuna stocks into the future.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tuna Fishing Regulations

Conclusion

Global tuna populations face mounting anthropogenic threats – foremost from overharvesting and illegal fishing.

But considerable progress towards long term sustainability is underway thanks to strengthened international controls, ecosystem-based fisheries management, and a rising certified sustainable seafood movement.

While substantial work remains, collaborative efforts to value tuna as a renewable shared resource could lead to responsible fishing secured for the future.