Too many fish
p. 29 · Read in the full issue
in the sea ...despite increase in tuna fishing
Tuna catches have more than doubled in the Pacific since the early 1980 s but, with one exception, the fish are in no danger of being fished out of existence, the South Pacific Commission reported in Majuro in mid-June.
The increase from 540,000 tons of tuna caught in 1980 to more than 1.4 million tons yearly in the early 1990 s is the result of an explosion in the purse seine fishing fleets of five distant water fishing nations, John Hampton, the SPC’s principal fisheries scientist, told more than 100 fish eries officials meeting in Majuro to develop a conserva tion and management system for the Pacific.
The fleet of purse seiners of the United States, Japan,
Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines grew from 14 vessels in 1980 to almost 200 in 1992, Hampton said.
Yellowfin and skipjack tuna account for the vast major ity of tuna caught in the western and central Pacific.
Albacore and bigeye are the two others, but are a minor part of the total catch. Studies suggest, however, that the current catches of bigeye tuna by the distant water fishing nations may be at or close to maximum sustainable yields, Hampton reported. SPC said that reanalysis of the data is
“urgently required”.
But for other tuna, SPC is confident that despite the huge expansion in the use of purse seining, tuna stocks are not in danger. “There is no indication that the fisheries have significantly impacted the western and central Pacific ocean skipjack stock,” Hampton said.
SPC studies suggest that the current level of exploita tion - even averaging close to one million tons annually - “is low to moderate, in spite of large increases over the past 15 years”.
Hampton said that studies show the same holds true for albacore, and that even the use of the now-banned drift nets didn’t jeopardise the supply. “There is no evidence that the current levels of fishing are adversely affecting the [albacore] stock,” he reported. “Nor is there any indication that the driftnet catches of the late 1980 s and early 1990 s have had a significant impact on the stock.” ■