New checklist for Fisheries Management in the WCPFC

The Pew Charitable Trusts calls on the Commission to fulfill this responsibility by taking the following actions at its 16th annual meeting from 5-11 December in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Moreover, The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is responsible for the long-term conservation and management of highly migratory fish stocks, including tunas and sharks, in the western and central Pacific Ocean.

• Advance the creation of harvest strategies to support sustainable fisheries

• Reject catch increases in Pacific bluefin tuna and support progress on a precautionary harvest strategy

• Adopt measures that support the recovery of oceanic whitetip sharks

• Strengthen protections on vulnerable manta and Mobula rays

• Strengthen port State Measures to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing

• Encourage States to obtain IMO numbers for vessels to improve oversight of fishing

• Improve transshipment regulations to ensure legal and verifiable seafood supply chains

• Adopt a minimum standard for electronic monitoring and move towards 100 percent observer coverage

• Strengthen the compliance monitoring scheme to improve its effectiveness

 

Source: The PEW Trust News, 18 November 2019.