In two position statements, African artisanal fishing organisations are also calling for stronger measures on fish aggregating devices (FADs).
In light of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) special session taking place this week, the Seychelles Fishing Boat Owners Association (FBOA) has sent a letter to the Seychelles Minister of Fisheries, highlighting the importance of the local fishing sector to the Seychelles economy, as well as the main concerns for their sector, in particular the need to rebuild the yellowfin tuna population.
PROTECTING YELLOWFIN TUNA
The FBOA believes that "Seychelles should take the lead at the IOTC level to ensure the sustainability of the resource on which we depend so much." To achieve this, the organisation calls on Seychelles to develop a sector-wide strategy: "This will ensure that our stocks are well managed and that the ecosystems on which they depend are safeguarded for a sustainable future. This will result in new growth, innovation, job creation and other ancillary activities supporting the whole economy."
Seychelles, in developing this strategy, should undertake "a clear analysis of the costs and benefits of each sub-sector (industrial, both purse seine and longline, semi-industrial, artisanal and mariculture/aquaculture) [...] which would allow for the prioritisation of those sub-sectors aligned with the development strategy, always keeping in mind the elements of food security and international obligations."
For the IOTC Special Session meeting, the FBOA believes that "Seychelles should push for sustainability more than ever if we want to see a change in the current trend of decline, as it is clear that the existing measures were not strong enough to achieve the recovery of the [yellowfin tuna] stock as planned."
A responsible use of FADs
Meanwhile, the African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Organisations (CAOPA) has backed a statement, signed by around 100 civil society groups, artisanal fishermen's associations and businesses, calling on delegates to the IOTC Special Session to support a proposal by Kenya and Sri Lanka, which addresses the lack of transparency and accountability associated with the use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). The statement stresses that "the successful implementation of this proposal will help facilitate the recovery of the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna stock, primarily by reducing catches of juvenile tropical tuna, but also by enabling the sustainable management of modern purse seine fleet operations in the Indian Ocean more widely. Implementation would also help mitigate other ecological impacts associated with drifting FADs, including those on turtles, sharks and marine mammals. [...] Damage to coral reefs and other sensitive coastal habitats when FADs run aground, as well as the contribution of FADs to marine debris and marine plastic pollution, could also be mitigated by the implementation of this proposal."
Banner Photo: A yellowfin tuna. Wikimedia commons.