Mitsubishi-owned canned seafood company Princes Group announced Thursday it reached its goal of reducing Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna sourcing by 50 percent, a year ahead of the 2022 deadline.
The group, however, said challenges remained in maintaining the reduction -- which was largely aided by the COVID-19 pandemic -- into 2022 and beyond. The cut is equivalent to 70 million cans of tuna a year.
Princes committed to the target to make clear to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), its member states, fisheries managers and vessel owners that action is required to protect the long-term sustainability of yellowfin stocks.
The Global Tuna Alliance (GTA), of which Princes is a member, had also been pressuring the IOTC to urgently adopt a recovery plan for Indian Ocean yellowfin.
In June this year, IOTC members agreed on an interim rebuilding plan, but this still fell short of recommendations needed to rebuild the stocks within two generations.
Princes is now forecasting its 2021 sourcing will be approximately 16,141 metric tons of yellowfin -- approximately 70 million cans of tuna -- a 51 percent reduction on its 2017 base figure of 32,768 metric tons.
Uphill battle
Princes admitted it "faces an uphill battle" to maintain the 50 percent reduction into 2022, as the pandemic created an unusual set of circumstances that helped it to achieve its goal a year ahead of its target.
"As we all know, 2021 has been a unique year, and that has impacted our tuna sourcing in different ways," said Neil Bohannon, group director for fish at Princes.
"We faced periods of closures and reduced production at our Mauritian canning sites, and while we maintained our supply of products, our sourcing did reduce somewhat."
Bohannon said the group now needs "to flex" its tuna sourcing as part of its multi-ocean strategy to ensure it can maintain the reduction next year.
"We are not going to shy away from these challenges, and we would call on all our industry partners to have the same mindset," he said.
"We will always play our part, but we are only one player in a much wider industry, and everyone has to step up."
It’s not rocket science
At the IOTC’s 25th Commission session in June, the Global Tuna Alliance called upon members to limit their catch to 341,000 metric tons, which the IOTC’s own Scientific Committee said would allow yellowfin stocks to begin to rebuild.
Now, several months later, five IOTC member states are objecting to the plan, said the Global Tuna Alliance, forcing the sustainability of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna back into the "danger zone."
Although the interim rebuilding plan for yellowfin tuna that was agreed at the IOTC meeting in June will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, the objecting member states will not have to implement the conservation measures, and will instead be bound by previous catch limits.
The Global Tuna Alliance calculates that it could increase the total 2022 catch by over 50,000 metric tons if their 2022 catches equal their 2019 catches – far exceeding the scientific advice.
“Long-term action is urgently needed on the overfished yellowfin stock, and it is great to see an individual company making such significant strides in exercising their commercial leverage to drive change," said Tom Pickerell, executive director of the Global Tuna Alliance.
"What is crucial now is that the IOTC supports these efforts with a formalized and scientifically sound rebuilding plan... if properly managed there will be enough tuna for everyone – it’s not rocket science; a scientifically-led cut in catches now will rebuild the stock."
