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Final <strong>Report</strong>
RoO Derogation under the PACP-IEPA
adopted for national waters (and vice versa for national measures); to take account of measures
applied by sub-regional and RFMOs; and, to pay special attention to wholly enclosed seas areas. In
practice, the Commission is largely concerned with high seas issues and measures pertaining
throughout the range of the stocks, and ensuring compatibility of measures.
The most important conservation issue facing the Commission since its inception has been the
concern regarding the status of bigeye tuna stocks, and to a lesser extent, yellowfin tuna stocks, with
the SC drawing attention since the early 2000s to the persistent overfishing occurring on bigeye
stocks. Fishing mortality on yellowfin stocks, as well as biomass levels are also close to MSY levels
(i.e. fully exploited). A CMM introduced in 2005, and modified in 2006 and 2008, 151 with the
objective of maintaining bigeye and yellowfin stocks at levels capable of producing MSY, prescribed
a series of compatible measures on the high seas and in EEZs designed to reduce fishing mortality on
bigeye by at least 30% from the average of 2001-2004 levels or the 2004 level, and to ensure fishing
mortality on yellowfin did not increase beyond 2001-2004 average levels or 2004 levels.
The suite of measures included:
• 2-3 month prohibition on purse seine sets on fish aggregation devices (FADs).
• Closure of two high seas pockets (HSP) to purse seine fishing.
• Restricting purse seine effort to 2001-2004 levels.
• Reduction of longline bigeye catch by 30% by the end of 2011.
• Some restrictions on other bigeye catches to 2001-2004 levels.
Assurances were also sought that various exemptions claimed by some CCMs (e.g. exemptions from
purse seine measures in archipelagic waters) 152 should not undermine the CMM. The catch in PNG
AW is declining as a percentage of the total catch in PNG waters (12% in 2010, or 81,500 mt – see
Table 3.3) and remains relatively low in Solomon Islands AW (< 20,000 mt). Little information is
available on the situation in Indonesia, which has very extensive archipelagic waters.
The CMM was progressively implemented in 2009 (i.e. two month FAD closure with compulsory
observer coverage, two month closure of high seas areas between 20 0 N and 20 0 S), then in 2010 (i.e.
three month FAD closure, full catch retention, three month high seas closure with observer
coverage, and closure of two HSPs until further notice from 1/1/2010). Development of high seas
FAD Management Plans, research on mitigating juvenile bigeye and yellowfin catch, and 100%
observer coverage for all purse seine activity, other than that exclusively undertaken in the EEZ of
153
one CCM, from 1/1 2010, were also required, as were measures for longline fisheries taking
bigeye. The requirement for an annual review of the effectiveness of these measures was also
specified. This review, prepared by SPC/OFP, is presented to each Regular Session of the WCPFC.
An initial technical review of the effectiveness of the measures, presented in 2009, concluded on
the basis of ten year stock projections (2009-2018) that the CMM was unlikely to achieve its
objectives for bigeye (i.e. 30% reduction in fishing mortality, maintain stocks at levels capable of
154
151 CMM 2008-01. Conservation and management measure for bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the WCPO.
152 AW exemptions currently apply in practice only to PNG, Solomon Islands and Fiji, as archipelagic states,
although no purse seining occurs in Fiji AW. Indonesia also has extensive AW, while the Philippines has no
declared or recognized AW.
153 100% observer coverage for the majority of the purse seine fleet was achieved for 2010, and the period July
2010-July 2011 (WCPFC 2011c). For vessels fishing exclusively in EEZs and not covered by the ROP, coverage by
national programmes was high (e.g. PNG over 80% in 2010).
154 Hampton & Harley 2009; based on projections from stock assessments.
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