Scientific assessments presented to the WCPFC last week in Papeete, Tahiti, warned current conservation and management measures won't allow the region’s bigeye stock to recover from overfishing.
In advance of the meeting, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) urged nations to apply conservation and management measures in all waters of the region and to implement a total temporary closure of the purse seine fishery.
The (ISSF) released the following statement about the outcome from its president, Susan Jackson:
“A key obstacle to the recovery of this region’s bigeye stock is the continued capture of juvenile tuna in the purse seine fishery and the significant bigeye catch by longline vessels operating in the area.
