WWF Praises Dolphin By-Catch Program Of IATTCff

Scott Burns of the World Wildlife Fund praises in an article on the WWF Website under the title: "Overfishing: A Global Challenge" the efforts of the IAATC to reduce dolphin by-catch.

Mr. Burns writes:
“Fortunately, there are plenty of good examples of fishermen and managers working together to solve bycatch problems. In the Eastern Pacific tuna fishery, the bycatch of dolphins dropped by more than 98 percent through a concerted effort by fishermen and regional governments. If we set priorities for fisheries where bycatch poses a major problem and work aggressively to solve it, we can achieve similar results elsewhere”. 

In the article WWF however also critizes the fleet capacity control program of the IATTC:

“In the Inter-American Tropical Tunas Commission, for example, present capacity-control measures are plainly inadequate despite clear evidence that overcapacity is already threatening tuna populations and eroding economic returns. In other important international fisheries no concrete measures at all have been established to address the problem of burgeoning fleets. The continued failure to address this issue will inevitably result in additional depletions, lower profits and exacerbated tensions between competing fishing groups and countries.”

WWF finds the efforts of the ICCAT not contributing to an improvement of the tuna stocks. Mr. Burns writes in his article:  
 
“The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), for example, has been a vehicle for mismanaging some of the Atlantic Ocean's most valuable fish populations. The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) has regularly ignored scientific advice and presided over the demise of once-important commercial fisheries and the extinction of many historic salmon runs.”

WWF also explicitly calls on regional fisheries management organizations to do business in a transparent fashion. “Management bodies have done business behind closed doors for too long. A lack of public scrutiny has encouraged shortsighted decision-making. Exposing international fisheries governance to the light of day can only help assure accountability and better protect the fisheries resources.”

WWF calls also on the U.S. to put their money where their mouth is and take steps to assure that the signed U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement is incorporated -and adhered to- in every international fishing body that we are party to.

A conservative management of fish populations would provide more jobs, higher catches, and healthier oceans, according to WWF. The organization mentions that Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has projected that fish catches could increase significantly in the future if overfishing is reined in now.