Wellington (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Delegates from more than 40 countries began meeting yesterday at a Pacific fisheries conference in Guam amid warning signs that the world's last great tuna fishery is heading for a crash.
Tuna is prized for top-quality sashimi in Japan and as a source of cheap canned protein on supermarket shelves all over the world. But stocks in most of the world's oceans have fallen drastically, something that raises questions about the future of the comparatively healthy western and central Pacific tuna fishery, an industry that is crucial for small Pacific states. For them tuna is the only major economic resource, as well as one of the most important food sources.
The five-day meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, with delegates from Pacific and major fishing countries, wants to find ways to limit catches.
The commission believes that the two most endangered species—yellowfin and bigeye—need a reprieve if the fishery is to remain sustainable.
The bigeye catch must be cut by 25 per cent and yellowfin by 10 per cent, commission executive director Andrew Wright said.
One problem is that when some of the more common species like the skipjack are caught bigeyes and yellowfins are caught as well.
Skipjack is usually caught in nets by sophisticated purse-seine fishing vessels from countries like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
Purse-seine trawlers from these three Asian nations are the worst offenders, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the catch in the region last year.
For Greenpeace tuna fishing should be cut by half if stocks are to remain healthy.
However, this would be politically and economically devastating for a sector and a region already in crisis.