Indonesia tuna fisheries development and future strategy

Tuna has made a significant contribution to Indonesian and world fisheries. Indonesian tuna fisheries were introduced from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Longline fishing was introduced in 1962, and purse seine gear was first used in 1974. Many foreign vessels have reflagged to the Indonesian flag. The Indonesian government developed its own tuna fisheries and closed the chartering program in 2006. Through these efforts, Indonesia became the number one tuna production country in 2004 and has further targeted an increase in marine capture fisheries catch of 0.5%/year from 2010 to 2014. Tuna resources remain under pressure globally. The tuna regional fisheries management organizations attempt to manage tuna fisheries by strengthening conservation of stocks. To enhance international cooperation, Indonesia ratified the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1985 and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 2005 and became a member of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna and a cooperating non-member of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in the 2000s. Consequently, Indonesia adopted domestic regulations to comply with management measures. For future sustainable development, Indonesia needs to build its capacity, improve its compliance with the tuna RFMOs’ conservation and management measures, strengthen data collection, develop its products to increase their quality and diversification, and enhance its international cooperation.     

Failing the high seas: A global evaluation of regional fisheries management organizations

Regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) collectively manage the largest distinct area of the world, the high seas, but their effectiveness in conserving the fish stocks therein has been questioned lately, as many stocks have declined. This study quantitatively assesses the effectiveness of the world's 18 RFMOs, based on a two-tiered approach, concentrating first on their performance ‘on paper’ and secondly, in practice. The former was determined by assessing how well RFMOs scored against 26 criteria that together reflect current RFMO best practices. The latter assessment referenced the current state of the stocks RFMOs manage, through biomass and fishing mortality reference points and biomass trends through time. Results show low performance of RFMOs for both assessments, i.e., average scores of 57% and 49%, respectively. The latter result is emphasized by findings that reflect two-thirds of stocks fished on the high seas and under RFMO management are either depleted or overexploited. Findings also indicate that there is no connection between the two sets of scores, suggesting a disparity between organization intent and action.     

Climate variability and tropical tuna: Management challenges for highly migratory fish stocks

The 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement facilitates the creation of regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) to govern harvests of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. The stability and success of these organizations will depend, in part, on how effectively they can maintain member nations’ incentives to cooperate despite the uncertainties and shifting opportunities that may result from climate-driven changes in the productivity, migratory behavior, or catchability of the fish stocks governed by the RFMO. Such climatic impacts may intensify incentives for opportunism, and create other management challenges for the RFMOs now governing tropical tuna fisheries in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.     

Taiwan's response to international fisheries management after 2005 as influenced by ICCAT and fishers' perception

It is widely recognized that fishing states are obliged to exercise flag state responsibility over their vessels. In an attempt to become a responsible fishing actor, Taiwan has endeavored to manage its distant water fishing fleet in accordance with international fisheries management. However, the long-standing problems of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fish laundering, and fishing overcapacity, which remained unsolved during the 1990s and early 2000s, brought its management capability into doubt. Failure to address these problems undermined the credibility of all management measures and ultimately resulted in a recommendation adopted by International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in 2005. This recommendation significantly affected Taiwan's distant water fishing policy. This paper examines how Taiwan assimilated this outside force into its fishing policy as a new response to international fisheries management and how fishers perceived this response. It shows that Taiwan's efforts in controlling distant water fisheries marked a big change, specifically manifest in three noticeable actions - reducing excessive bigeye-targeted efforts, deterring IUU fishing, and strengthening fisheries management. The study advises that management of small tuna vessels be effectively exercised and recommends future actions on providing subsidies for fishers to partially offset costs incurred by rule compliance, streamlining their administrative work, enhancing communication with them, putting more enforcement and meaningful penalties in place. Finally, the study indicates the existence of an interaction in the international fisheries management scheme, potentially favoring Taiwan to bargain for fishing rights and a favorable status in the participation of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the future if it continues to exercise effective control of distant water fisheries.     

Assessment of IUU fishing for Southern Bluefin Tuna

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is recognized as one of the largest threats to the sustainability of the world's fisheries. This paper focuses on IUU fishing in the context of unreported catches by members or co-operating non-members of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and their implications for scientific assessments of stock status and management advice. A review of Japanese market statistics was undertaken in 2006 by an independent panel in relation to catches of southern bluefin tuna (SBT). Based on this review, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) concluded that very substantial and continuous unreported catches of SBT had been taken by longline vessels since at least the early 1990s. While uncertainty exists about the fleets contributing to these IUU catches, the assumption used within the CCSBT Scientific Committee is that a significant proportion of these were taken by Japanese longliners. Implications of these unreported catches for the stock assessments by RFMOs are discussed in light of the central role that Japanese vessel reported data have in the assessment of the world's tuna and billfish stocks. Results indicate that it is plausible that the unreported catches of SBT stem from the misreporting of catches as other tuna species and/or the location of fishing effort. The magnitude and extended period of the unreported SBT catches highlight the wide-spread risks of relying on fishery dependent logbook data in the absence of verification. An urgent need exists for minimum standards of verification of catch, effort and landing statistics for use in scientific assessments. The fisheries science community needs to be more pro-active in the development of such standards and the implementation of independent monitoring and verification. In addition, there is a need to reform the operation of the scientific bodies of RFMOs in terms of transparency, the treatment of uncertainty and the burden of proof if they are to be effective in providing objective scientific advice consistent with the intent of international agreements.     

The Precautionary approach to fisheries management: How this is taken into account by Tuna regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs)

For several decades it has been acknowledged that there is an urgent need for new approaches to fisheries management, embracing conservation and environmental considerations. The voluntary Code of Conduct on Responsible Fishing and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement provide the formal basis for the Precautionary Approach to fisheries management. Some tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as the WCPFC and IATTC make explicit mention of these codes in their conventions, whilst others, whose conventions do not explicitly address the Precautionary Approach, are searching for ways in which to take these codes into consideration. In practical terms, the scientific obligations to Precautionary Approaches are to determine the status of the stock(s) relative to limit and target reference points, to predict outcomes of management alternatives for reaching the targets and avoiding the limits, and to characterise the uncertainty in both cases. A convenient framework to conduct management evaluations is through the use of harvest control rules, for which managers agree on specific management actions under their control which are evoked according to levels of stock status relative to predefined reference points. These pre-agreed management actions are then simulated for a range of scenarios. This paper presents the ways in which tuna RFMOs are currently incorporating the precautionary approach in their fisheries management as well as suggestions for possible best practice.     

Moving beyond catch in allocation approaches for internationally shared fish stocks

Allocation schemes are one way to combat the tragedy of the commons, the situation whereby individual users of a shared resource put their own interests above the collective good. In the case of shared fisheries, developing equitable and transparent allocation schemes can help to ensure stable cooperative management agreements, which in turn will facilitate sustainable fisheries. Allocation schemes for shared fisheries resources, which have been in existence for decades, have recently been facilitated by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). These schemes vary in the scale of interested parties, from simple two-country systems sharing Pacific salmon, to multi-country systems sharing Atlantic bluefin tuna. Most RFMOs tend to base allocation schemes on historical catch records, spatial stock abundance estimates, or a combination of these. Socio-economic factors do not appear to influence allocation to any major extent. Unfortunately, previous attempts at creating and enforcing allocation programs have not, by and large, been able to curb the serial depletion of fish stocks, particularly when the number of fishing countries is large. Several RFMOs are currently in the process of initiating or reformulating allocation programs. In this paper, current allocation approaches are reviewed and discussed in the context of their possible transference to new or evolving programs. Specifically, lessons from game theory are drawn on, and the potential for better incorporation of socio-economic circumstances in allocation decisions, which can incentivize improved compliance, is explored. The relevance of conclusions from the literature analyzing international water agreements is also discussed, and a combined socio-economic-ecological construct whereby allocation programs can be based on the sharing of benefits other than catch is proposed.     

First steps towards a quota allocation system in the Indian Ocean

In response to recommendations made by a recent performance review, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is attempting to develop a quota allocation system (QAS) for management of the tuna and tuna-like species of the Indian Ocean. As “first-movers” in the process, Indonesia, the Seychelles, the European Union, Iran, and the Republic of Korea made contrasting proposals to the IOTC in March 2011 on possible QAS form and structure. Structure (the factors to be taken into account in determining allocation) is critical as it will determine on a long term basis the share accruing to each IOTC member state of the estimated USD 2-3 billion worth of tuna caught in the Indian Ocean each year. This article records and discusses the content of these first steps towards QAS formulation by placing them in the context of rights-based management as applied to the offshore areas falling under tuna RFMO management. The options proposed in March (which the IOTC is still considering) all have a similar architecture but result in sharply divergent allocation outcomes. Despite the sophistication of some of the proposals, the recent IOTC review suggests that the regulatory and management capacity of the IOTC does not match the science and enforcement requirements appropriate to these recent proposals. Perhaps efforts to improve IOTC performance need to be made in parallel with discussions on QAS definition and implementation. To further advance the debate and also concretely demonstrate likely economic outcomes, the article provides indicative monetary valuations of quota allocations proposed. It uses a range of potential historical reference periods (5, 10, 15, and 20 years).     

Evaluating the basic elements of transparency of regional fisheries management organizations

This paper reports on the first global study of regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) transparency. It was prompted by recent scholarship that suggests that RFMOs are failing to meet their conservation and management mandates and that transparency is a critical element of this performance. In this study, 11 RFMOs were evaluated using 34 questions, divided into three sections: (i) access to full, up-to-date and accurate information; (ii) public participation in decision-making; and (iii) access to outcomes. Secretariats for all 11 RFMOs were contacted, and all responded, to correct and comment on initial findings and to share additional information. The total scores in this study reflect transparency as measured against current good practices in RFMOs as a whole, rather than some sort of idealistic benchmark. Each question should therefore be seen as a diagnostic tool that shows where some RFMO(s) fall short and how they can correct the shortfall based on the practices of their peers. These results have highlighted a number of good practices amongst RFMOs, with no single RFMO standing out as having particularly poor transparency practices. On the other hand, there also were not any RFMOs that had exemplary transparency practices in every respect and all RFMOs still have room to improve upon their basic transparency practices. This first transparency assessment is necessarily broad in nature and considers only very basic elements of transparency. It is to be expected that as RFMO practices become more sophisticated, so will the techniques and criteria of future transparency assessments.     

Optimising fisheries management in relation to tuna catches in the western central Pacific Ocean: A review of research priorities and opportunities

Some of the most important development goals for the countries and territories of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) involve the sustainable management of their fisheries in light of environmental, economic and social uncertainties. The responses of fish populations to variability in the marine environment have implications for decision making processes associated with resource management. There is still considerable uncertainty in estimating the responses of tuna populations to short-to-medium-term variability and longer-term change in the oceanic environment. A workshop was organised to examine how advances in oceanography, fisheries science and fisheries economics could be applied to the tuna fisheries of the WCPO and in doing so identify research priorities to improve understanding relevant to progressing management. Research priorities identified included: (i) improved parameterisation of end to end ecosystem model components, processes and feedbacks through expanded biological observations and incorporation of higher resolution climate models; (ii) development of seasonal and inter-annual forecasting tools enabling management responses to short-term variability in tuna distributions and abundances; (iii) improved understanding of the population dynamics of and the energy transfer efficiencies between food web components; (iv) assessment of the optimal value of access rights and overall fishery value under multiple scenarios of tuna distribution and abundance and influences on decision making by fisheries managers and fleets and (v) development of management strategy evaluation frameworks for utilisation in the implementing and testing of fishery management procedures and to help prioritise research directions and investment. Issues discussed and research priorities identified during the workshop have synergies with other internationally managed fisheries and therefore are applicable to many other fisheries.     

The irony and the exclusivity of Atlantic bluefin tuna management

The eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna (thunnus thynnus) was recently nominated for protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). That nomination failed, which leaves management of the heavily overfished stock in the hands of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). This paper reviews the history of ICCAT management of Atlantic bluefin tuna to show that (1) early elimination of competitive forces prevented agreement on management in keeping with scientific advice, resulting in the steep decline of the stock, (2) even just the threat of a CITES listing can provide temporary impetus for marked improvement in ICCAT management, and (3) long-term sustainable management by ICCAT will require continued economic and political pressure.     

印度洋金枪鱼渔业现状

报道了印度洋海域金枪鱼渔业近十年的生产概况，结果显示，印度洋金枪鱼渔业从业国家和地区已达40个，从业国家(地区)中以欧共体、印度尼西亚、印度、伊朗、斯里兰卡、中国台湾、马尔代夫等所占份额较高，以2000年计占当年印度洋金枪鱼渔业总产量的68．17％。产量140万吨，以金枪鱼类所占份额最高．主要金枪鱼渔获种类依次为鲣、黄鳍金枪鱼和大眼金枪鱼，主要渔业方式为金枪鱼围网、刺网及延绳钓。中国在印度洋海域金枪鱼渔业中年占份额较小，捕捞产量从1995年的444吨逐渐上升到2000年的6408吨。     

Using data-limited approaches to assess data-rich Indian Ocean bigeye tuna: Data quantity evaluation and critical information for management implications

The majority of fishery stocks in the world are data limited, which limits formal stock assessments. Identifying the impacts of input data on stock assessment is critical for improving stock assessment and developing precautionary management strategies. We compare catch advice obtained from applications of various datalimited methods(DLMs) with forecasted catch advice from existing data-rich stock assessment models for the Indian Ocean bigeye tuna(Thunnus obesus). Our goal was to evaluate the co...     

Politics and independent scientific advice in RFMO processes: A case study of crossing boundaries

Provision of independent scientific advice is central to the operation of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) even though RFMOs are largely policy (and political) instruments. Political pressures and intervention in science and crossing of the boundaries between scientific and political processes, however, appear to be relatively common. A case study is presented to illustrate some ways in which this occurs. It involves a paper that was withdrawn from scientific meetings of two RFMOs as a result of largely political (rather than scientific) concerns. The details involved in this incident are important for understanding the ways in which political intervention in independent scientific process can and does occur. Moreover, unless one is directly involved in actions of this kind, it is impossible from the reports of RFMOs' scientific bodies to assess whether, and the extent to which, there has been political intervention in the scientific process. It is argued that the nature of the working arrangements in these scientific committees can engender deliberate or inadvertent crossing of the boundaries between scientific independence and the political processes of RFMOs, both of which are important components of RFMO operation. Further, there is very little documentation or assessment of the generic extent of such problems. No simple solutions or reforms exist for isolating scientific advice from political agenda in the processes of RFMOs but it is suggested that increased discussion of the problem along with better understanding and clarity of the role of science in the management process may lead to improved recognition of the importance of independent scientific analyses and advice.     

区域渔业管理组织对脆弱海洋生态系统的保护浅析

21世纪以来底拖网渔业的快速发展给脆弱海洋生态系统（VME）带来极大威胁,导致公海深海渔业发展不可持续以及海洋生物多样性降低。为更好地实现养护海洋渔业资源和保护海洋生物多样性的目标,同时为我国在保护VME以及管理公海深海渔业方面提供参考,文章分析八大区域渔业管理组织（RFMO）针对VME保护采取的系列措施及其保护VME的可行性,针对存在的问题提出对策建议,并对我国在RFMO中保护VME进行展望。研究结果表明：《公海深海渔业管理国际准则》在RFMO保护VME的实践中发挥重要的指导作用;RFMO采取的措施限制深海渔业活动,但为保护VME和养护海洋渔业资源提供重要基础和保障;未来RFMO应加强信息共享和技术合作,发展VME分布预测技术,同时在保护海洋生物多样性方面积极开展双边和多边合作;我国应进一步研究和实践基于生态系统的渔业管理方法,平衡保护与开发利用的关系,积极参与国际渔业管理和VME保护并促进合作,加强南极海域海洋保护区综合治理。     

Distributing the bigeye conservation burden in the western and central pacific fisheries

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean is home to the world's most productive tuna fisheries, with the majority of tuna catches occurring inside the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the region's developing coastal States. It is important that these fisheries are managed effectively throughout their range, both within and between EEZs and on the high seas. Unrestrained exploitation in a particular EEZ or on the high seas has the potential to significantly impact on catches elsewhere with potentially devastating consequences for developing coastal States, some of which have few alternate resources. The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) was established in 2004 to manage the region's highly migratory tuna fisheries. However, the WCPFC has since repeatedly failed to adopt conservation and management measures that are sufficient to meet the WCPFC's conservation and sustainable use objectives. This paper analyses catch data from the WCPFC and suggests that the weak position of bigeye (in a strategic political context), the unwillingness of members to compromise their interests and the lack of a transparent framework for distributing the burden of conservation are key factors in the WCPFC's failure to adopt sufficiently strong conservation and management measures.     

A collective approach to Pacific islands fisheries management: Moving beyond regional agreements

The sustainable management and profitable development of the Pacific island tuna fisheries is the key ocean governance challenge for the Pacific islands region in the short and medium term. Resolving these challenges is fundamental to the long term future of the region and its ability to implement oceans governance across all resource and conservation concerns.     

A limit reference point to prevent recruitment overfishing of Pacific bluefin tuna

Pacific bluefin tuna (PBF) (Thunnus orientalis) is commercially important in the North Pacific Ocean. Although its stock has been relatively low for decades, international discussions on a long-term management framework, including the definition of a limit reference point (LRP), have only recently started. This paper argues that an LRP for PBF could be developed by determining a biomass level that would prevent recruitment overfishing. First, it reviews the development of LRPs for various tuna species and demonstrates that most of these limits are not necessarily based on biological information on the respective species. Then, the current management of PBF is also reviewed as background information for considering an LRP for PBF. Finally, a variety of simple analyses of the stock–recruitment relationship of PBF are conducted to find a biomass level that would prevent recruitment overfishing—i.e. an LRP below which stocks should not fall. It is concluded that, for the first time to our knowledge, defining such an LRP for a tuna species is possible (about 30 thousand tonnes or 5% of estimated unfished spawning stock biomass in our calculation). Not only is the LRP based on actual experience, but also the logic behind it would be easier for stakeholders to understand than the theoretical LRPs used elsewhere. This LRP should be useful in future in more comprehensive management framework, such as one through management strategy evaluations, in which stakeholder involvement in decision-making is crucial.     

Private provision of public information in tuna fisheries

Private enumeration of landings data and traceability is an emerging phenomena in developing world tuna fisheries. The general goal of these systems is to facilitate compliance with mandatory market requirements such as the European Union’s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fisheries regulation, as well as support aspirations for voluntary requirements such as the Marine Stewardship Council. The long-term success of these systems appears to be dependent on their ability to complement and extend government data and information systems. Developing and maintaining the credibility of these voluntary private enumeration and traceability systems requires strong market incentives as well as strong state support and assurance. If this credibility can be maintained private fisheries information systems may provide a promising basis for innovative stock assessment and management approaches relevant for complex developing world fisheries such as tuna.     

Governance of tuna industries: The key to economic viability and sustainability in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna fishery is an important global food resource, and the economies of many Pacific Islands Countries (PICs) rely heavily on tuna industries. This paper proposes that governance by PICs is the key to improving the sustainability and profitability of tuna industries in the region. ‘Governance’ is usually used to refer to corruption, but here is interpreted more broadly to encompass the whole process by which decisions regarding public life are made and enacted, by government and also civil society. Argument is supported by empirical material from an interview study with stakeholders and a survey of reports.