Cartagena, Colombia, 27 January 2016
Three Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs): the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM); the Organization of the Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (OSPESCA); and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations - Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (FAO-WECAFC) on Wednesday 27 January signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate, support and strengthen the coordination of actions among the three RFBs to increase the sustainability of fisheries.

Read more

The article "Catch reconstructions reveal that global marine fisheries catches are higher than reported and declining" by Pauly and Zeller published in Nature Communications argues that catch reconstructions, compiled from a number of separate studies, support a different conclusion about the magnitude and recent trend of marine catches than what is shown by FAO capture production database compiled since 1950.

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is one of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity and sustainable fishing. Every year between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish is caught through IUU fishing. This costs the industry between $10 and $23 billion annually and threatens food security in many parts of the world. Estimates indicate that IUU fishing accounts for up to 30% of the total global catch. IUU fishing is also considered a major threat to fisheries resources in the Caribbean region, undermining regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks. IUU fishing also prevents governments of the CARICOM countries from achieving their nationally and regionally agreed-upon fisheries management goals and objectives.

IUU fishing leads to the loss of both short and long-term social and economic opportunities and to negative effects on food security and environmental protection. If IUU fishing is not dealt with, it can lead to the collapse of a fishery or seriously impair efforts to rebuild stocks that have already been depleted. The fight against IUU fishing must be prioritized in order to ensure food security, guarantee income and livelihoods for legitimate fishers, as well as continued export earnings from fisheries.

The issue brief (available here) provides an overview of international and regional policies and agreements that are essential in the fight against IUU fishing in the Caribbean region.

Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project started two pilot activities to test the insertion of EMS data in the national processes to verify and enhance compliance with current regulations. The systems are deployed on board longline vessels in Fiji and purse seine vessels in Ghana.

Full story

December 2015 | Bali. The Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project summarized its 2015 activities in 2015 and highlighted progress with the southern hemisphere sharks and by-catch measures assessments.

Full story