Process or Progress? Time to Fish or Cut Bait for Western Pacific Commission

The second session of the Scientific Committee (SC) of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) convened August 7-18, 2006 in Manila, Philippines. The SC’s primary activity is scientific assessment of stock status. At the Manila meeting, reports on the status of bigeye, yellowfin, and albacore tuna stocks in the WCPFC convention area, as well as preliminary reports on striped marlin and swordfish in the southwest Pacific, were presented to scientific experts from the Pacific island member countries and Australia, China, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Japan, Korea, and the United States. The primary conclusion of the bigeye and yellowfin assessments is that overfishing is occurring on both stocks, but that both stocks are currently at levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY). (See page 3.) Both stocks are declining, and if current levels of fishing mortality are maintained, both will fall to levels below those capable of producing MSY within five to 10 years. Overfishing of yellowfin and bigeye in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is old news. The Standing Committee on Tuna and Billfish (SCTB), predecessor to the WCPFC-SC, reached this conclusion in 2001. At that time, the assessment procedure was new, and the data covered only the period from 1962 to 1999. Based on this preliminary assessment, the SCTB concluded that the increasing catch of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin in the surface fishery around drifting objects might be contributing to overfishing of yellowfin and bigeye stocks and recommended “that there be no increase in fishing mortality in surface fisheries on these species in the WCPO until uncertainty in the current assessments has been resolved.” The intervening years have seen refinements in the stock assessment methodology, extension of the time series back to 1952, increases in data coverage, and a continuous increase in fishing effort. The conclusions have remained unchanged. There is overfishing of bigeye and yellowfin stocks in the WCPO and increased mortality on juveniles in the surface fishery associated with drifting objects is a primary cause. (continued on page 2)