At tuna commission meet, catch limits on some species and protection for sharks

The intergovernmental body that regulates tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean agreed to a suite of shark conservation measures, including rules to curb shark finning and the use of gear that causes significant shark bycatch. The new measures adopted by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, or IOTC, provide critical relief for a range of beleaguered shark species, but they may not be enough for some species, observers say.

“Sharks won for the very first time at the IOTC except the shortfin mako,” Iris Ziegler, head of fisheries policies and ocean advocacy at the German Foundation for Marine Conservation, told Mongabay. “For shortfin mako, it was a disaster. We are overexploiting the species, and it may never recover.”

The IOTC is a regional fisheries management organisation responsible for overseeing fishing of 16 species of tuna and highly migratory tuna-adjacent species like mackerel, billfish and swordfish. The body held its 29th session in Saint-Denis, La Réunion, an overseas department of France, April 13-17.

On the meeting’s agenda were a range of decisions related to conservation and management of the targeted tuna and tuna-like species. This year, shark conservation proposals featured prominently in the talks. An overlap in the aquatic habitats of sharks and tuna means that tuna fisheries capture...

Read more

News