E - Iccat

ICCAT REPORT 2002-2003 (II)
The Delegate of the United States requested the deletion of paragraphs 6 and 7 from the draft recommendation in
respect to limits on the retention of bigeye tuna weighing less than 3.2 kg. He noted the United States preferred
to maintain the clause in recommendation [Ref. 79-01] for one more year and recalled that this measure also
applies to yellowfin tuna. Other Panel memb ers agreed to this deletion.
The Delegate of Mexico concurred with the U.S.A.’s comment about consideration of closed areas and urged
caution about replacing a non-workable measure [Ref. 79-01] with another that could be equally non-workable.
He noted that the draft measure appeared to substitute quotas for management measures.
The Delegate of Ghana expressed the view that the draft document did not offer Ghana any concessions and that
Ghana only had its home waters in which to fish. The Delegate agreed to continue working with other ICCAT
members to develop more realistic measures, especially in relation to limits on the capture of juvenile bigeye and
yellowfin tunas as well as to respect the Gulf of Guinea moratorium.
The Delegate of Canada voiced dis appointment that the Panel could only agree to a one-year rollover of existing
measures. He supported the U.S.A.’s request in respect to deletion of operative paragraphs 6 and 7 of the draft
recommendation and noted that changes to these measures could be premature considering that these will be
reviewed in greater detail in 2004.
The Delegate of Canada also noted that whereas bigeye were fished at a level in excess of MSY in the mid-
1990s, hard work to reduce capacity and eliminate IUU fishing in recent years has had a positive effect. Canada
thanked the People’s Republic of China for its work in this regard. However, they noted that if all Parties base
their quota needs on catches of other Parties, then there are clearly not enough bigeye tuna available to satisfy
all.
The Delegate of the European Community requested a review of fishing levels and stated that IUU catches are
still too high. He acknowledged Ghana’s commitment to respect the moratorium.
The Delegate of Côte d’Ivoire requested a fair and equitable quota for bigeye tuna (Appendix 2 to ANNEX 8).
The Observer of Chinese Taipei referenced their information paper on bigeye conservation measures (Appendix
3 to ANNEX 8). He stated that operative paragraph 2(b) of the draft recommendation could cause problems for
Chinese Taipei.
The Observer of Chinese Taipei also noted that all but 13 of the 159 former IUU vessels have been eliminated.
He referenced recommendation [Ref. 01-23] in which ICCAT acknowledged that Chinese Taipei was in
compliance and that they requested an additional quota of 2,000 t for 2003 in exchange for their support of the
draft recommendation (Appendix 3 to ANNEX 8).
The Delegate of Japan stated that ex-IUU vessels must not be rewarded through the granting of quota. In respect
to the draft proposal by Chinese Taipei (Appendix 3 to ANNEX 8), Japan indicated that the quota transfer
should be for 2003 only.
The Observer of Chinese Taipei further indicated that though their original intention was to ask for additional
catch quota, with the current situation, they would leave the matter for consideration in the next Commission
meeting.
The Delegate of the United States suggested that the Commission consider the appropriate process for
authorizing temporary quota adjustments. In the view of the United States, this is properly authorized through a
Recommendation, not through a letter from a Contracting Party to the Commission. The Delegate of the
European Community questioned whether catch limits could be transferred in the same way as quota. The
Delegate of Japan suggested that there already have been precedents and that the words “catch limit” should be
substituted for “quota.”
The Delegate of the European Community indicated the EC could support the proposal by Chinese Taipei
(Appendix 3 to ANNEX 8) provided there will be further discussion on the issue of underage, overage, and
catch limit transfers.
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