Tuna Talks Focus On Big Eye Futureff

Tuna scientists from countries which fish in the Indian Ocean are meeting on Mahe this week to review data on tuna stocks and decide if alarm bells need to be rung about the future of Big Eye tuna numbers.

Scientists from member countries of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission – which is based in Seychelles – are holding weeklong talks at the International Conference Center, to analyze data on stock levels and assess whether action needs to be taken.

IOTC executive secretary Alejandro Anganussi said, “we are not sure,” when asked about the sustainability of the current Big Eye tuna catch, which has hit record levels in recent years.

The meeting, part of the regular program of IOTC activities, groups scientists from Australia, Mauritius, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Spain, Taiwan, France, UK, Iran and Seychelles for the “Working Party on Tropical Tuna.”

A press release from IOTC states that, “there has been concern about the status of this species among member states, who have agreed to take steps towards establishing management measures for the conservation of Big Eye tuna.”

Seychelles’ tuna trade is dominated by Skip Jack and Yellow Fin tuna, which account for around 90% of the local catch, while Big Eye and a handful of other species make up the remaining 10%.

Attending the meeting for the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Industrial Fisheries Resource manager, Vincent Lucas, said that problems will arise if fishermen take too many juvenile tuna.

“We cannot say (the species is) in danger, but if we continue taking small fish there is a chance of it becoming endangered,” he told journalists before the start of the first session, Tuesday July 24 in the morning.

Findings thrown up by the meeting will be presented to the IOTC scientific committee for verification in November.

The one-week tuna talks will be followed next week by the “Working Party on Bycatch,” at which a second group of technicians will look at methods for reducing the number of non-target species caught by the tuna industry.

Sharks, turtles and sea birds will be top of the list of species, which need to be protected from industrial tuna fishing methods.

Mr. Lucas said that SFA staff will be presenting their recently drawn up national shark plan to the group and that sea trials of turtle friendly fishing hooks – donated to SFA by non-governmental organisation Nature Seychelles – are ongoing.

The by-catch meeting was originally scheduled to be conducted over Monday and Tuesday of next week, but is likely to be scaled back as a result of the presidential election this coming weekend.