FFA urges caution over new tuna data

Transcript

WEZ NORRIS: Yeah so I guess the big change that is showing this year is that the revised status of Big Eye tuna. Until recently it has been classified as what we call overfished meaning there is not enough fish left in the water and subject to over-fishing meaning it is still being caught too rapidly. Under the new stock assessment it has actually shifted into what we call the green zone meaning that it is not over-fished and it is not subject to over-fishing. That results from some quite significant changes to the inputs into the stock-assessment model. In particular the scientific community has adopted revised information about the growth and reproduction patterns of Big Eye based on some very significant research that CSIRO in Australia has done.

KOROI HAWKINS: You are urging caution though in terms of caution on this new data.

WN: Yes we are. There’s a couple of reasons why we need to be cautious about celebrating too hard about the new status of Big Eye. The first element is we don't know how much of the positive status is a response of the management measures that we have adopted over the past couple of years. And I am certain that there is positive impact of those management measures. The second one is that there still is quite a high degree of uncertainty around the stock assessment results. So while the sort of point estimate from the scientific committee puts the stock in a very sustainable place there are quite high levels of uncertainty around that.

KH: Yes um you are talking about increasing not only the value of the fishery but also making sure it is economically viable. I was wondering what the stresses or what the factors are in making tuna not economically viable. Is it too stringent management or what sort of things feature in that?

WN: Yeah I think there are two ways in which you can sacrifice the economics of the fishery either by managing it too much or by not managing it enough. And so you need to find the correct balance of measures for each fishery that will deliver obviously a sustainable fishery stock which is the fundamental basis of anything. But will deliver that sustainable stock in a state that produces sort of economically vibrant fisheries because it is not until you get fishing vessels that are actually making decent money that you can then if you are a small island developing state that you can then secure some of that money that they are making. Whether you do that by charging them access revenue to come and fish in your waters or whether you do it by making them carry your nationals as crew or you do it by encouraging onshore investment into canneries and so on. But the basis has to be that fishing vessels can go out there and catch fish in sufficient quantities to make good money.