E - Iccat

PANEL 2
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF PANEL 2
1. Opening of the meeting
The meeting was opened by the Chair of Panel 2, Mr. Andrew Carroll (European Union).
2. Adoption of Agenda
The Agenda was adopted and is attached at Appendix 1 to ANNEX 9.
3. Appointment of Rapporteur
Mr. Pierre Mallet (Canada) was designated Rapporteur of Panel 2.
4. Review of Panel 2 membership
Panel 2 comprises 23 members of which 2 were absent: Albania, Algeria, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia,
Egypt, European Union, France (St. Pierre and Miquelon), Iceland, Japan, Korea (Rep.), Libya, Mexico,
Morocco, Norway, Panama, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (absent), Syria (absent), Tunisia, Turkey, and United
States of America. Two new members, Honduras and Guatemala, joined the panel at this meeting.
5. Report of the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS)
Dr. Josu Santiago, Chair of the SCRS, presented the Executive Summaries on the North Atlantic and
Mediterranean stocks of albacore tuna and the eastern and western Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks of bluefin
tuna.
These summaries can be found in Sections 8.4 (Albacore) and 8.5 (East-West Bluefin Tuna) of the 2012 Report
of the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS).
5.1 Albacore (North Atlantic and Mediterranean)
North Atlantic albacore was last assessed in 2009. According to that assessment, the stock continues to show
signs of overfishing with recent catches being below established TACs. Both longline and surface effort has
progressively decreased. Using the reference points calculated by the current base case assessment model done
in 2009, projections indicate that constant catches above 28,000 t will not result in stock rebuilding to
Convention standards by 2020. The Committee noted that, since 2007, the reported catches were below the
recommended TACs.
The Mediterranean albacore stock was assessed for the first time in 2011, using available data up to 2010. The
SCRS concluded that much of the data (1965-2010 series) were highly variable and incomplete. This led to the
application of data-poor modelling techniques.
The results of the 2011 assessment point to a relatively stable pattern for Mediterranean albacore biomass in the
recent past. Recent fishing mortality levels appear to have been reduced from those of the early 2000s, which
were likely in excess of F MSY , and might now be at about or lower than the F MSY level.
Due to the fact that the management advice for the Mediterranean stock was based on catch curve analysis and
due to the limited quantitative information available to the SCRS, projections for this stock were not conducted.
As a result, future stock status in response to management actions could not be simulated. The outlook for this
stock is thus unknown.
The SCRS emphasised the importance of data collection and reporting to improve the quality of the assessment.
5.2 Bluefin tuna
The Chair of the SCRS noted that following the work plan approved in 2011, the stock assessment conducted in
2012 constituted an update of the previous assessment carried out in 2010.
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