E - Iccat

PANEL 3 REPORT
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF PANEL 3
1. Opening of the meeting
The meeting of Panel 3 was opened by the Panel Chairman, Dr. Johan van Zyl (South Africa). In the interest of
time, it was requested that opening statements be submitted in writing; no opening statements were submitted to
Panel 3.
2. Adoption of Agenda
The Agenda was adopted without modification (see Appendix 1 to ANNEX 8).
3. Appointment of Rapporteur
The ICCAT Secretariat was appointed Rapporteur for Panel 3.
4. Review of Panel membership
Brazil and Uruguay both expressed their desire to become members of Panel 3, bringing the total membership of
the Panel to eight Contracting Parties: Brazil, European Community, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, United
Kingdom (Overseas Territories), United States of America and Uruguay. All the members were present.
5. Report of the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS)
5.1 Southern bluefin tuna
Dr. Joao Pereira, the SCRS Chairman, reminded the Panel that southern bluefin tuna was under the management
of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), but that the SCRS considered it
was important to continue to monitor and collect data on this species in close collaboration with the CCSBT,
despite the low level of catches of southern bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean.
5.2 South Atlantic albacore
The SCRS Chairman summarized the report of the SCRS on South Atlantic albacore, a fishery in which 90% of
the total catch was taken by four major fisheries. Both the surface and longline catches had remained constant
from 1995 to 1999, partly in response to ICCAT management recommendations. He noted, however, that the
catches in 2000, 2001 and 2002 had exceeded the established catch limits for these years.
Although uncertainty remained in some of the catch-at-size data, the SCRS assessed the status of the South
Atlantic albacore stock after reviewing the Task I and Task II data available. The model used had the same
specifications as the assessment carried out in 2000 and the results obtained were similar to those obtained at that
time, but with substantially narrower confidence levels. The estimated MSY and replacement yield for 2003
were 30,915 t and 29,256 t, respectively, with the fishing mortality rate remaining at about 60% of F MSY. From
the assessment results, the decline in spawning stock biomass appeared to have halted.
While recent catches of albacore in the South Atlantic have been above replacement yield, they are in the
vicinity of current estimates of MSY, in which there is now greater confidence. The SCRS therefore
recommended that catches in the next three to five years should not exceed 31,000 t per year.
The Delegate of the European Community asked why the recommended Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2003
was higher than in previous years. The SCRS Chairman replied that this advice was based on the projections
made during the assessment and that estimates of high recruitment could indicate an increase in adult stock
abundance.
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