My take on the latest news on labour abuses un the US / EU seafood

I have been asked by a few people what I think of the article by Urbina et al. on the “human rights” of tainted seafood in the US and the EU, and so on… so here I go

Crew memeber in a USA flagged vessel at the time, now re-flagged to a pic for convenience

The sad reality is that I don't really see anything new there, unfortunately… if you work in food production wich includes fisheries, that has been the reality for a while.

I tend not to take part in commenting and sharing on those articles, as most of what I read there comes from what I see as a White Saviour perspective, where we have some crusaders that are against everyone, even those that are going through the appropriate channels of change… (indignation and writing does not change per se much)

But also, I don’t part take of the present anti-China rhetoric prevalent in the USA… this is a world problem… so I don’t buy into the hypocrisy of saying is only them..

I have seen it in the agricultural fields of the southern USA states and in the USA-flagged vessels in the Pacific… So when I read it, I had to think about that Bible passage that says: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”….

It is the same with most DWFNs like Korea and Taiwan (albeit they are doing better), or unfortunately, our smaller Pacific Island countries that flag the vessels of those DWFNs like Vanuatu or Nauru here.  

The picture above was taken on an, at the time, USA-flagged PS, and he was earning 350USD a month, no catch shares, and a 3-year contract with no going home.

Corporations have pushed the model over the last decades.

This is not to say that China is not particularly bad; it is also now the biggest. Yet we forget it was the West (particularly the USA) that sent most of its manufacturing to China for cheap labour just a few decades ago, and now that they are doing the same with others (and, of course, worst in the case of minorities) the USA get on the high moral ground?

I’ve seen that movie before… does not finish well…

The whole thing has become a human tragedy and is the fault of all of us… And something I learn is that you don’t fix a problem by pointing fingers at others. If you (and your country) use inequality to increase profits, you are guilty… and that includes me.

Even we in NZ (a small, well-regulated, and rich country) now have someone in jail for slavery in the food and wine industry.

USA and others could lead by example by giving crew on board their vessels a work visa and minimal labour protections, just as in the factories in their territory. Instead of hiding all our obligations of due diligence behind the industry of labour certifications and eco-labels … that is going the same way… more and cheaper than the competition, and as such, just selling a screen.

I'm unsure if all this is what those who asked me wanted to read… So I’m sorry if it isn't… Is the advantage of not having totow a line and being self employed… this is own (and surely wrong) opinion.

Back to Kiribati after 4 years

I have worked extensively in Kiribati in the past under the auspice of NZ MFAT as well as FFA, and now I’m back under a World Bank-supported mission that will go over a few months. I’ll be coming in and out all the way up to May next year… This may sound like a lot, yet there is barely enough time based on the scope of the work.

Walking to the office

I’ll be dealing with and supporting them in the update of the Kiribati NPOA-IUU Fishing and that MFMRD is well positioned to ensure its effective implementation. Supporting them with a review of their PSM activities, in compliance with national, regional and international expectations, and working with them to set up a safe, effective, and efficient transhipment monitoring scheme and practices based on best practices but also in compliance with national, regional and international expectations.

Kiribati is unique from every aspect I can think of… they are an incredibly proud nation that faces unique and severe challenges placed by geography and the inheritance left by some really rapacious colonialism by the British that only left in 1979 after they ended mining Banaba and testing their nuclear weapons in Kiritimati on the other side of the country.

And while they face the challenges of climate change and sea-level rise with stoicism, they are the giants of the tuna at the fisheries level. More tuna is caught in their waters than in the whole of the Atlantic, and it is the player not only in the WCPFC but also in IATTC.

Unlike most countries, Kiribati runs a well-externally managed Revenue Equalisation Revenue Fund or RERF.Non-RERF cash balances increased from $11.3 million in January 2013 to an estimated $173.5 million by the end of 2018, and the RERF balance grew from $613.9 million to $994.4 million over that same period - just short of the government’s $1 billion target. State-owned enterprise commercial debts with ANZ were also eliminated within this timeframe, and the government invested $10 million in a land purchase in Fiji.

The key revenue inputs to this fund come from Kiribati's earnings from the PNA VDS. Interestingly, the government has started what pretty much is a Universal basic income (UBI) in which all citizens receive a guaranteed income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment (i.e., without a means test or need to work) of 50AUD.

So yeah… if you work in fisheries and care about the impact it can have socially, this is the place…

Of course, other issues are not positive, i.e. prostitution, AIDS, abuse, etc.… yet these are documented and discussed extensively, as they should be… yet you hardly hear about the positives these days.

In any case, I’m happy to be here, working with friends.

The picture below: The Port State Measures whiteboard strikes again! A really simple solution we have been using in Majuro for over 5 years. It helps a lot on PSM and transhipment monitoring, is cheap and power cuts proof!

A personal rant on the day of my 40th year aniversary from my 1st trip on fishing boat

Today is 21 September; back in 1983, it was my first trip on a commercial. I had to be 18 years old to get my “2nd mate ticket”, and even if I had done the equivalence from my Navy one a couple of weeks before while still 17… the day after my b’day (16/9), I was at the Argentinean coastguard (Prefectura) with all the papers.

I had a job lined up as a deckhand in a small coastal trawler of Mar del Plata because while I knew how to take a boat and operate it from A to B, I didn't know shit about fishing. Thankfully, a skipper (a good man named Braulio who lost his son in the war just the year before) took me under his wing and allowed me to learn from him and many others after him.

It was a steep learning curve that, after 40 years, hadn’t stopped yet, mainly when, after a few years of fishing, I got into university and got involved in fisheries science and management to then, go back to fishing in the Pacific in the early 90’s to re-start the road that took me to being here today.

Yes, many things have changed since then, some for good… some for bad (and some that feel the same).

I like to be a positive person, so start with the good things:

Stock assessment and data… this is where I see the most significant change… the stock assessment models of today and the data [path feeding them is sooooo much better than it ever was… I remember coding in Cobol on pathetic (for today’s standards) loops to run Virtual Population Analysis on computers that had less than 0.1 % of the computational capacity of my running phone today. Remember doing plots by hand and working with models that were just minor upgrades from the Beverton–Holt model. My colleagues in SPC, for example, run some more of the most sophisticated models in the world that have moved aeons from then; hence the accuracy of the assessments is astronomically better than then. Add to that the almost live capacity of electronic monitoring to feed those models in real-time…, and we could be talking about a different universe (even if some of the assumptions of those models stayed the same)

Monitoring, Controls and Surveillance… technology allows us to know so much more than ever before about fleet dynamics and fishing efforts… when I started, we just left. We had a radio, and that was it. No one knew where we were, what we were doing, if we sold fish or unloaded fish on the side before coming to port, if the catch declaration on paper (if necessary) matched entries at factories. Sonar and Satellite technology combined, in particular, made such massive changes.

The other side of the coin about advanced Sonar and Satellite technology is effort creep; finding fish was never so easy as today. We then relied on experience and advice from other friendly or family-related skippers. I remember being a “weirdo” by bringing knowledge about “water mass”, fronts and thermoclines…. The crew were looking at me like mad when I was dropping thermometers or longlines with a potato every 10 m, leaving it there for a while and then checking the temperatures like a freak to see where the thermocline was… this has become Stone Age in less than 30 years. Fish finding sonars were crude and exorbitantly expensive and required calibration every few weeks with cables on either side holding a bronze ball that will be progressively levered and the “bouncing” rate adjusted as needed… a total nightmare!

Communication and positioning safety… another area of incredible development… we just relied on VHF and, if lucky UHF radios for everything… my mother would not know anything of me for weeks at the time. The idea of the Internet on board was science fiction. Positioning was also very complex; all was dead reckoning, and I know how to use a sextant, which I will use to take the meridian at lunchtime if the sun was visible; the rest was just guessing, a bit later on the biggest boats we got the capacity to triangulate via coastal radio stations and Loran C… I remember vividly going over the manual of the first proper GPS I got (I was already fishing in the Pacific) and being bewildered by how much safety and efficiency this would bring, particularly as all this tech gets progressively cheaper as well.

Of this, of course, means that more and more vessels got built as things became cheaper and the “need” for fish got up. Fishing was a family / cultural job, with the odd one out like me… But back then, High Seas fisheries weren’t really a thing. Freezing technology hasn't changed so much, but it has become way more generalised, and crewing was primarily tied to nationals of the flag state plus highly protected by unions… I will come back to that later.

The number of boats exploded since then, chasing the same amount of fish initially and progressively less since then… we caught fewer fish overall because there were fewer of us, and we had less tech to find them even if the abundance was bigger…

I remember hitting a school of Southern blue whiting on a bottom trawl in the south of Argentina by chance (I could not really estimate biomass with the sounder, yet I knew that the bottom contour was good). In a few minutes, we packed the net all the way to the mouth; the boat slowed down while maintaining the same revs. We struggled to get the net to surface; all hydraulics were on the limit. I cleared the deck as the cables were at full tension. Once afloat, it was a monster; we could not bring it in, as the fully packed net was wider than the boat. The fish was so squashed that it was useless. I had to get on the inflatable dingy and cut the cod end open to let go of the catch… it was a nightmare. We lost a day and then had to repair the net for a further day. I don’t think abundance as such is typical today, even if all-around catch volumes may be way higher.

I guess I could go on and on and on…But let me focus on what I personally think has gone worse… or at least pissess me off the most

Big business and the Geopolitics of fish… fishing is not anymore about catching for others to eat (and making good money for the hardest and most dangerous job in the world). Fishing has become a huge business and, as such, so much more linked to politics both domestically and internationally… and with that, has taken on board what is, for me, the worst of politics in general and human behaviour in particular… hypocrisy.

I’m constantly biting my thong in meetings when I see statements, presentations, or read news by NGOs, industry associations, marketing people, eco-labels and private certifications on fisheries issues, and even more so when those delivering then as if it was the ultimate truth, are people that NEVER worked on fishing boat… it really gets me.

Let’s get the geopolitics first and its ugliest influence on fisheries: subsidies. I resume it with a principle of diplomacy “If you have a presence, you have rights”… so doesn’t matter is no way let’s say high seas LL does not make money, albeit paying shit to the crew and cutting maintenance and living standards… subsidies will support them because the benefit of being in the table, (i.e. having X amount of vessels there), outplays the cost of subsidizing fuel, giving tax exemptions, etc.…

The industry has become globalised. It is not just a former fisherman that had a few boats and became a fishing company…. It is a corporate business, and as such, like any other big business (from tech to wine and food), it takes advantage of ALL possible ( purposely made or not) shortcomings and loopholes in legislation, tax systems, crewing rules, etc.… Compounding to this, the regulatory framework in the HS was made when there really wasn’t a High Seas industry… so when you have these gaps (as dictated by capitalism), business runs rampant. And this is just not fishing in every industry, so here is one thing that REALLY pisses me off… fishing gets rightly pointed out for many things (around environmental and social impact, tax evasion, etc), but in a way as if it exclusively a fishing problem… and is not is all around us in every industry as soon as you peeling layers.

Example: bottom trawling has environmental impacts, no doubt about it, and the gravity of these impacts depends on many issues, ranging from the benthos in which they happen to the species being trawled… is not “one size fits all”. And then I heard: imagine 2 bulldozers going over a forest and destroying all… and I looked outside my house, I look at farms, roads, sports fields, etc., and that is what literally happened! There were forests there at some stage not so long ago! A field of soybeans has a biodiversity impact of 100%... everything there was killed and removed to plant an exotic species. So where are the “stop agriculture” or “stop housing development” coalitions?

And another I rant on usually: high seas transhipment in the WCPFC, textbook geopolitics-driven hypocrisy.

And the hypocrisy doesn’t stop there… politics and business drove colonialism up to the 1980s and still drive the more subtle neo-colonialism today. I see a direct line between many NGOs, eco-labels, private certifications, some “developing” programmes, etc., with “white (or perhaps rich country) saviourism” as the latest expression of the colonial mindset.

But let me focus the end of my rant on what has definitively gone worst as the consequence of all the above of the above:

The fisherman's income and rights are worse today than 40 years ago… and this is so soul-destroying for me personally, to the point of wanting me to walk off the only job I ever had.

The whole edifice of fishing, from boatbuilders to bureaucrats at RFMO meetings, from truck drivers picking up fish to politically appointed ministers of fisheries, from marketing people in the industry to NGO activists, from eco-labels to fisheries students, and so on… has grown immensely and become so much richer in the last 3-4 decades than it was before. All these people (in 99% of the cases, never worked on a fishing boat), and all their jobs, and all industries associated with them, depend for their existence on fisherman… and their income and life perspectives has gone down since then instead of up like the rest.

There is no way that an 18-year-old kid like me then will get today for the first time on a fishing boat, could do the path I’ve taken to get here and be writing this (while taking a break from my present work for the World Bank, the EU, FAO and NZ MFAT), and that saddens me a lot.

The whole business/politics/certification empire has risen on the backs of people, which is worse at all levels than 40 years ago. A union protected my rights, and my income was based on standardised agreements and catch shares. I could take breaks for exams, I would earn enough to live while having access to a decent education and health system, and the flag in the back of the vessels did actually mean something… all that is gone for someone starting today in most (if not all countries in the world).

For example: I sit on meetings for crewing CMM at an RFMO, and I only see people who have NEVER worked on a fishing boat, trying really hard to find red herrings in an already diluted text; it seems that they are just basically being opposed to act as decent humans and grant fisherman rights, protections and payments that they will not even think in denying their children. Nothing being asked in the discussion papers in front of them are requirements that the states they represent should already comply with under UNCLOS and ILO for their merchant vessels, and they act as if we are asking them to sell their organs.

This is the tragedy of fisheries in my 40 years in it… we created an empire, and like all empires, it was built on the back of those at the basis of it… the essential workers, the fishermen. They are worse instead of better than when there wasn’t an empire, and that is just not right.

So yeah…, it is not a happy 40th anniversary, unfortunately. I owe my life to fisheries, yet I find myself increasingly struggling in the moral no-man lands in between cynicism and mercenaryism, the exactly two aspects of my work I struggle with the most… mainly because those two aspects are the basis of the two “attitudes” I dislike the most in people, and fight hard to never fall into as a person: they are ingratitude and pretentiousness. Yet, booth seems to abound in the circles I move today.

In any case, thanks for reading if you made it all the way here.

The 2023 US NOAA Report on IUU Fishing, Bycatch, and Shark Catch

I wrote in the past about the biennial reports to Congress by NOAA Fisheries as a mandated requirement of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, as amended by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act.

I have used and quoted these reports when doing background research on IUU analysis of specific countries… while being aware of the geopolitical interests represented. For example, for many years, the EU identified the Pacific islands as epicentre of worldwide IUU while the USA (using the same IUU definition) identified Central America (but not Panama) as the worst area… as well as other issues around “name and shame” countries as a strategy to dissuade IUU fishing.

In any case, in these biennial reports to Congress, NOAA Fisheries identifies nations and entities that the United States will work with over the next two years to address IUU fishing and forced labour activities and support effective management of protected species and shark catch.

The report provides “certification determinations” – a determination on whether actions were taken to remedy the identified activities -- are announced for the previously identified nations. A negative certification may result in denial of U.S. port access for fishing vessels of that nation and potential import restrictions on fish or fish products.

In its 2023 Report, NOAA Fisheries identified seven nations and entities for IUU fishing:

• Angola, Grenada, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, The Gambia, and Vanuatu.

Identifications for the PRC and Taiwan include information related to seafood-related goods produced through forced labour.

The PRC and Vanuatu are additionally identified for shark catch without a regulatory program comparable to that of the United States. This is the first time, as part of this report, that NOAA Fisheries identified nations for shark catch, and considered forced labor in the seafood sector when making IUU fishing identifications.

It is a worry for me that Vanuatu (a member of FFA that otherwise has an outstanding reputation in terms of their controls of IUU fishing), is part of these identified nations since they have the dubious distinction of also being identified by the EU as a non-cooperating country once (and there is talk about being again). The issues with Vanuatu deserve a blog in themselves… in my personal opinion, it starts with the loose registry, vessels in at least 6 RFMOs, their loose control of high seas transhipments, political interference on their fisheries authority (that otherwise tries to do the best with very starved resources) and series of other issues for another time, so I’ll love to see how NOAA will work with them.

Certification determinations

The 2023 Report also announced certification determinations for thirty-one nations and entities identified for IUU fishing and/or bycatch of protected marine life from its 2021 Report. 

IUU Fishing 

• Costa Rica, Guyana, Senegal, and Taiwan received positive certification determinations for taking actions to remedy the IUU fishing activities identified in the 2021 Report.

• Mexico, the PRC, and the Russian Federation received negative certifications for failing to take actions to remedy their reported activities.

Protected Marine Life Bycatch

• Croatia, Egypt, European Union, Grenada, Guyana, Japan, Mauritania, Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, and Taiwan received positive certifications for taking corrective actions to address their protected marine life bycatch activities identified in the 2021 Report.

• Algeria, Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Namibia, Senegal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and Turkey received negative certifications for not having a regulatory program comparable to that of the United States to reduce bycatch of sea turtles in pelagic longline fisheries in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas waters beyond any national jurisdiction.

Additionally, Mexico has been negatively certified for its lack of a comparable regulatory program to reduce or minimize bycatch of endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles.

A summary of the report can be found here, and the full one here.

Why are there not many pacific islanders in the fishing fleets inthe WCPO?

This a fair question that has been asked many times here in the region. Many groups and consultants have had a dig into this complex topic. A few days ago, I was asked my opinion on that topic.

It is a complex one to deal with; I’m not an employment expert, so, my opinions are influenced by my understanding of fishing, having lived and worked with locals for over 30 years and my understanding of labour rights… but critically of having being a migrant fisherman my self….

i took thios picture while being the only non pacific Islander on a fishing boat in the pacific… it should be the norm… not the exemption.

So below is what I wrote, for whatever is worth:

The expectations of PIC’s leadership to increase domestic crewing have remained aspirational, albeit there are different initiatives set up in different frameworks, which are not always consistent between them.

The jurisdictional complexities among the crew's responsibilities are a key factor that does not simplify the incorporation of more Pacific islanders into the fleet. There are still legal tensions under the UNCLOS in regard the scope for States other than the flag State to regulate fishing crew conditions. In considering these tensions, a distinction must be drawn between the right to prescribe rules (prescriptive jurisdiction) and the right to enforce such rules (enforcement jurisdiction), as it is possible to have jurisdiction to prescribe rules but lack the authority under international law to enforce them against foreign vessels. FFA members as coastal states have limited scope to apply their own civil or criminal laws simply by virtue of the presence of a fishing vessel in its waters.

There are some key international law agreements and statements of principle that the flag State ought reasonably to consider as part of its obligations under UNCLOS Article 94(3) and (5). Both ILO C188 and IMO’ Cape Town Agreement, and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (‘STCW-F’) are jointly responsible for ensuring the labour rights of the crew, their safety on fishing vessels and the minimal requirements in terms of safety training of crew on board. However, the majority of the DWFN and FFA Members are not party to these instruments. 

While there has been a drive for “domestication of the fleet” by which the DWFN flag their vessels to FFA members,  with a few exceptions, it seems so far an exercise of reflagging (mostly to 3rd party registries that are not based in the island countries) and as such may not have the interest of domestic crewing conditions at the forefront. While reflagging to FFA member states potentially brings some economic benefits as part of state-owned investments in the reflagged vessels in exchange for cheaper access fees, the presence of nationals of the flagging state on board remains from minimal to non-existent. Hence, conditions may need to be reviewed.

Skilled crewing capacity continues to be a challenge are remains a key cause of the reaching full realisation of domestication efforts. The lack of skilled crew to effectively operate fishing vessels is used as an excuse not to employ domestic crew. While creating capacity among Pacific Islanders has been a constant goal, and worthwhile national initiatives have been variously attempted, very few are maintained for lack of resources. One exception has been the PNG NFA Fisheries College in Kavieng, and its utilisation as a regional centre should be further explored[HHW1] [FB2] .

There is a level of Informalisation of crewing contracting in PICs, this needs to be further explored in detail.

a.     Both domestic and regional actors need to undertake concerted action. At the domestic level, government departments should take greater responsibility for regulating recruitment to ensure robust recruitment practices and standards are in place. At the regional level, the FFA has identified the importance of introducing standardised recruitment and employment contracts for Pacific Island fishers recruited to work on vessels operating in the region. However, more needs to be done to establish and enforce regionally applied minimum standards that are consistent with international standards.

b.     Government stakeholders (such as the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations) should create a formal, legal mechanism to assess claims for unpaid salary as an avenue to seek redress. A robust compensation scheme for workplace injuries, long-term diminished health and wrongful deaths should be introduced and enforced. These mechanisms need to operate cross-jurisdictionally since fishers with claims might not be from the same jurisdiction as vessel owners or recruitment agencies. This is crucial because when petitioning for unpaid salaries, fishers are often told payment is the responsibility of a party in another jurisdiction.

Although there are ‘layers’ of labour and immigration requirements, including destination country agency and placement fees, work visas and high transportation costs, are not necessary for local citizen crew joining and disembarking vessels in their own territory or other islands, the competitive advantage offered by Pacific Island crew recruitment in terms of lower costs than for migrant workers does not seem to be enough to entice operators to recruit more pacific islanders. This reinforces FFA / ACIAR (2023) findings that working conditions and employment arrangements do not necessarily align with cultural values and ways of life for many Pacific Islanders.

Remuneration: none of the initiatives analysed for this report addresses the key issues why fishermen go to sea: good payment. Other than Tuvalu’s Fishing Crew Regulation, which dictates a minimum salary of US$ 500 per month for crews on Tuvalu-flagged vessels or Tuvalu nationals employed on foreign vessels, no other jurisdiction incorporated this critical factor. It is important to understand that for most fisheries around the world, and throughout history, remuneration has been made using some form of a crew-share payment, where the crew receives a share of the gross return as a “top-up” of a fixed minimum wage. While some DWFNs employing non-local labour conduct operations outside of national waters to avoid paying legislated minimum wages, this should not be the case in the FFA membership. Hence, it would be important not only to have a minimal remuneration that induces fishers to go at sea, but this also should extend to a fair catch shares structure in the contract process.

The chance to entice more Pacific Islanders to the harsh realities of fishing work will remain low while the issues of fair remuneration, legal protection and equal payment for equal work stay as they are now, in my opinion.

Yet, NFD in Noro in the Solomon Islands has proved this can be done. From the 1990s, NFD and Soltuna started supporting local crew with training at all fleet positions, and today NFD has a productive, profitable, predominantly localised fishing fleet of purse seiners and pole-and-line vessels.

The 19th Regular Session of the Scientific Committee of the WCPO

As I’m only partially involved this time (since I’m getting certified as a bicycle mechanic – one of my other interests) up in Palau, the Scientific Committee of the WCPFC is taking place.

This is an event I am very interested in, as it discusses all aspects related to science and technology in the WCPFC-managed fisheries.

Generally, there is a plethora of papers to read, and I wonder if anyone in the world has the time to read them all, yet for some reason, this year seems to be even more than usual! There must be over 150 papers, presentations, reports and so on.

There is no way that I could read all the papers I’m interested in, but I do have some absolute topics of interest, and the good thing about the WCPFC is that all of the stuff I’m interested in is accessible online to those that want to read about it, beside those of us that do as part of our work.

Here is my personal selection of the ones I found interesting on the topics I’m keen on (and understand! I’m really interested in stock assessment, yet the depth of the modelling used today is beyond my limited brain)

So for whatever it is worth, here are some of them

Overview of tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, including economic conditions – 2022 https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19335

A novel FAD tracking device tested in the Pacific Ocean https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19844

ISSF Workshop on Different Approaches to Limit the Number of FADs in the Oceans  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19487

Spatial and temporal description of drifting FAD use in the WCPO derived from analyses of the FAD tracking programmes and observer data  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19395

A preliminarily analysis of variations in the fishing gear configurations and practices of Japanese longliners in the WCPO since 2007 https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19783

Non-entangling and biodegradable FAD trial in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19392

The Jelly-FAD: new results on its performance  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/20154

Independent Review of the 2020 WCPO Yellowfin Tuna Assessment  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/20156

Technological developments of the fishing devices in the Japanese pole-and-line vessel identified in past surveys  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19782

Proposed purpose, scope, and process for the seabird CMM 2018-03 review https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19793

Updated ACAP Advice on Reducing the Bycatch of Albatrosses and Petrels in WCPFC Fisheries  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19486

Evaluation of the use of netting and biodegradable materials in drifting FAD construction in the WCPO https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19393

Statistical comparison of bycatch mitigation performance with and without streamers in tori-lines for small LL vessels  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19763

Analyses of the regional database of stranded drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) in the Pacific Ocean https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19394

Tori line experiments on Taiwanese tuna longline fishing vessels in the North Pacific Ocean https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19923

Ecosystem and Climate Indicators https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19391

A Fisheries Science Vessel for the Pacific – A tool to manage and preserve our common resources and ecosystem  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/19401

Summary of bycatch in WCPFC longline fisheries at a regional scale, 2003-2021  https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/20161

International Legal Responses for Protecting Fishers’ Fundamental Rights Impacted by a Changing Ocean

I read a lot about climate change impact on fisheries distribution and management, some of which I have shared in many blogs in the recent past.

Yet this paper brings two very interesting aspects for me; first, it deals with fishers' rights under climate change from international law and human rights legal framework, and two because, I got to know one of the authors last year as an alumnus of the Rhodes Academy I was part of.

Julia Lima Weston is one of those really bright young people that seems to do everything right, and I loved the fact that our conversations could move fluidly between Portuguese, Spanish and English. So it was very nice to see her name in this really original paper

As usual, I strongly recommend you read the original; meanwhile, I quote the abstract and conclusions.

Abstract
Climate change directly impacts the marine landscape where fishers operate. Most fishers rely on fishing for food, income and/or employment. A changing ocean can therefore significantly impact fishers’ lives and hinder the full exercise of their rights of access to fisheries resources, rights to fish, to food, to work, to culture, and to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment. This article questions whether international law supports the protection of fishers’ fundamental rights in the changing ocean context. The authors begin by elucidating what such context means to fishers and their rights, taking special account of small-scale fishers and vulnerable groups. The obligations of States Parties to key instruments under the law of the sea and international climate change law, vis-à-vis States’ obligations under human rights treaties and other relevant international guidance, are explored with a view to furthering the protection of fishers impacted by a changing ocean.

 Conclusion
Fragmentation in international law requires interpreting and using treaties, principles, approaches and non-binding instruments from different legal regimes in a systemic, integrated and mutually supportive manner. In examining the support of the human rights, law of the sea and climate change regimes to the protection of fishers in the changing ocean context, special account has been taken of small-scale fishers and other vulnerable groups. Current and future developments are and will show whether duty-bearers will take the necessary actions and measures to further such protection. Many possibilities exist to advance this protection, including, but not limited to, providing capacity development and awareness-raising by governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations in close collaboration with fishers, particularly for the development of adaptation plans and tools. Special rapporteurs can play a key role by elucidating, in their country visits, the challenges and identifying solutions to strengthening the protection of fishers’ rights in the changing ocean context. Notably, thematic reports can focus on this particular topic to deepen the analysis of the matter, and involve and draw the attention of multi-stakeholders to address this issue.

Fishers directly or through their representatives could also take the initiative in seeking the full realisation of their rights or claim reparations or compensation for past and current rights’ violations. Remedies through the justiciability of certain rights may change according to the rights themselves being justiciable within States’ own national systems, affecting primarily social, economic and cultural rights. Litigating on human rights in order to address climate change impacts is not a new tactic and has been increasingly used by civil society to achieve the clarification of certain human rights obligations in the light of climate change impacts. Fishers’ communities may initiate cases under human rights treaty monitoring bodies, as well as other international or regional human rights courts and tribunals, after having exhausted domestic options and following the applicable procedures. Ensuring fishers participation in the design, implementation and monitoring of climate change prevention, adaptation and mitigation measures, policies and programmes is fundamental, and enables the contribution of fishers’ traditional knowledge and perceptions of climate change. This participatory approach to climate change decision-making in fisheries can be realised by the undertaking of socio-cultural environmental strategic and impact assessments prior to the development of plans, policies, programmes and undertakings with potential to cause significant environmental impacts.

 Specifically, the participation of small-scale fishers in decision-making processes requires consideration of their representation, cultural aspects and integration of their views and traditional knowledge, as well as access to information in a way that is easily understood by small-scale fishers.

It is crucial to read, interpret and apply the forementioned treaties, international guidance and technical documents in conjunction with each other so as to strengthen the protection of the fundamental rights of all fishers in the face of climate change. Comprehensive guidance from UN agencies could help in consolidating the recommendations from the applicable regimes in a coherent and mutually supportive manner, furthering the protection of fishers’ fundamental rights in a changing ocean context. Additionally, as certain treaty monitoring bodies have already advanced the climate change discussion in their forums by issuing general recommendations (in the case of CEDAW) and general comments (CRC), which elaborate on States’ obligations under those treaties in the climate change context, it remains to be seen whether other treaty monitoring bodies, including the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, will do the same. Furthermore, regional human rights instruments also include monitoring mechanisms that are specific to each region’s peculiarities. Notably, this is illustrated by the IACtHR jurisprudence on Indigenous peoples’ human right and its ground-breaking advisory opinion which clarified the correlation between human rights and the environment. These can also be pathways through which State obligations can be clarified. Many possibilities indeed exist, and it is hoped this article has contributed to clarifying some options for furthering the protection of fishers in the changing ocean context.

My takeaway thoughts from the international MCS meeting.

What are my takeaway thoughts from the international MCS meeting?

I’m not much of a meetings man, I get easily exhausted, and there is a level of pomposity that I find difficult to deal with… is like when I have to wear a shirt or a jacket, even if they are of the right size, I always have the feeling that there are too small, that makes me fill uncomfortable and generally put of place like if I don’t belong there. 

Also, most people in meetings belong to some organisation and have a job title, business cards and stuff like that… I’m just Francisco… so being in meetings fills me with impostor syndrome.

Yet on the other side, it is absolutely humbling to have so many people coming to say hello and tell me how useful and enjoyable my blogs are, that they appreciate my honesty and independence, and so on. But more importantly, listening to others from other parts of the globe talk about the diversity of their issues and problems is super important and informative.

Many of the IUU-related problems are the same, yet it is like saying the instruments you use to play in a grunge rock and a reggae band are the same, which is the case… yet the mixing, tunning, and playing of the same instruments produces totally different music.

So here are my personal takeaways:

1)    There is nothing like a “global fishery”, hence there is nothing like a “global IUU problem”.
There is a sum of a hell of a lot of very defined and localised specific and in some cases, regional issues.
For example;

a.     for the guys of the Bahamas, the main issue is the American boats sneaking in and not respecting the local lobster maximum take and closure.

b.     Yet for the Americans, the cradle of IUU is China in almost all fisheries

c.     For the crew in Peru and Ecuador, besides their own local issues, is the complexity of dealing with the Chinese and Taiwanese squid fleets outside their EEZ under the structures of a relatively new RFMO.

d.     Sandy Davis from FISH-i Africa told us that transhipping in the highs seas is not their main problem in East Africa’s east coast / Western Indian Ocean, and she worries about the focus given to that, while for us in the Western and Central Pacific is the main problem we quantified and the use of the impracticability loophole of the TS CMM.

e.     While the extent of IUU fishing seems to be huge in some parts is well-defined and quantified as small in other parts. i.e. for us in the Pacific is around 8% of total catches / less than 200 million USD in the WCPO -out of a 6 to 8 billion USD fishery.

f.      So I really question the utility of quoting an old study that says 20% of world fisheries is IUU? Who does that help? There are many places, like in the FFA membership, where things are way less… yet we get cornered with that figure and treated like liars if they dispute those numbers with our own commissioned ones. Furthermore, the worst performing nation in the function of compliance issues per fleet size is not CN or TW, but South Korea… yet in other parts, it is different.

So this makes me also wonder about the IUU index and rankings, not that there is nothing wrong with making them… but what is the use in the local context where we use it? Even big ports tend to (surprisingly for many) with mostly a known number of vessels that keep returning.

g.     IUU Rankings keep telling us that countries with low governance indexes and those that are poor (and even more those that are both), perform worst than those that are rich and well-governed… now tell me one area where that is not the case?

2)    Flag states get a free ride.

a.     According to UNCLOS, the Compliance Agreement, Flag State Performance guidelines, ICJ advisory opinions, etc… the Flag State is primarily responsible for conducting due diligence on the activity of its vessels. End of story!

b.     We had a representative of a DWFN saying that is was very difficult for them because they have over 1000 vessels fishing worldwide… So fuk*n what? Either have more people or fewer vessels! A country doesn’t have to flag fishing vessels… you should not flag them in the number your resources allow you to control them. Don’t ask for sympathy… even if you have only 100 and only the capacity to control 20…. You have 80 too many, and they are your responsibility. When not living up to yours, you are putting it into the hands of port states.

c.     You could be saying… port states have the capacity of not receiving them… yet, and we exercise it, yet we have to have documented reasons… furthermore is not the same… I can only receive as many as my port capacity allows… flag states seem to flag as many as they want.

3)    Nationals get a free ride

a.      The role of “nationals” is present in all multilateral legislation and treaties from UNCLOS onwards all the way to PSMA and others… in fact the IUU International Plan of Action Implementation says “One reason why IUU fishing has been such a persistent problem is that many States have not been successful in controlling the fishing activities by their nationals.” I wrote about here

4)    The AIS analytical platforms are here to stay.

a.     We had a lot of presentations and talks that involved AIS analytical platforms that MCS agencies. And we have two models:

i.     The free platforms (i.e. GFW, Skylight and OM - even if OM is in its own universe), yet it comes with a “mission”, a “line to tow” these are tech providers but also NGOs… where you get to use their tools under their terms and they also engage with universities and NGOs to produce research that normally relates to the conservation side of things.

ii.     Then on the other side you have Starboard.nz, which has produced a fantastic tool with a really user-friendly UX, and they keep working with fisheries agencies, and MCS practitioners to keep refining tools, algorithms and capabilities specifically designed for PSM, dark vessel detection, biosecurity risks and so on designed to cover the needs of clients that keep ownership of the data… yet here is the keyword “clients” which implies that you access their product under a subscription service. Now the issue is that the countries that need them the most, are generally the ones with less money, and they tend to rely on donor funding… which is not always sustainable. I think the model is to create a tool that is good enough as to be paid because it produces results. This is the case in RMI, we got a subscription under funding, yet we made such good use of it and got enough money from fines as to pay for the subscription ourselves at the end of the year contract.

5)    The Pacific is ahead of the pack in terms of MCS and RMI’s PSM is world-class.

a.     I don’t know of any other body like FFA that has had such a massive influence on combating IUU in the world.

b.     I don’t know of any other country in the region (and the developing world) that does the depth of PSM work that MIMRA does… and the price we got shows it.

6)    Good MCS is a process that relies on good and motivated people.

a.     And there is no way around that. Good tech and traditional tools are of no help if there are no good people behind them.  

So this little homemade movie is my way to show my respect and the process we went through with some of the coolest and most motivated people I had worked with.

Thank you guys

MIMRA wins the “Stop IUU Fishing” Meritorious Award

I have written a lot about the work MIMRA has welcomed to be involved with since 2018, even during the COVID years… My work there covers quite a few areas on the oceanic side of their mandate, yet much of the focus has been on MCS, PSM, transhipments, and crew labour issues.

I’ve said many times that working with them has been, so far, the highlight of my consultant career, both at professional and personal levels… they have always welcomed me as one more in the team, and I see my colleagues there more like friends than people I work with. And I will always be very grateful to NZMFAT for the trust, but overall the vision of working with fellow countries on long-term commitments.

iMCSn Chair Garry Orr, MIMRA’s Director Glen Joseph, MIMRA’s Chief Fisheries Officer Beau Bigler, iMCSn Director Mark Young in the from row… I’m the ugly bloke in the back.

My policy and operational approaches are sometimes a bit “unusual”, and focus on separating what is “nice” from what is ”necessary” and focus on the latter, also in making sure that newly acquired responsibilities don’t pile up on the already busy life of the crew there. And I always feel supported by them, even if sometimes against the advice of more “traditional” approaches and colleagues.

Anyway… I love working there.

As I wrote before, this week we have been at the 7th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (7GFETW) here in Halifax, organised by my colleagues at the International Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network (iMCSn)

And last night, during a ceremony, MIMRA’s Oceanic Fisheries team won the “Stop IUU Fishing” Meritorious Award for their PSM work in Majuro, the world’s largest transhipment port.

Needless to say, I was absolutely stoked for them because is totally deserved.

The award not only recognised the excellence of the systems in place and the work of MIMRA’s oceanic division fisheries officers but also MIMRA’s outstanding level of transparency and mutually beneficial collaboration with technology providers.

The award recognised the long-term collaborations and the leading role that RMI has with regional fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance institutions such as the Pacific Islands Fisheries Forum Agency (FFA) and the iMCSn, where MIMRA’s Director MR Glen Joseph, serves as vice chair, but also at the bilateral level with many partners such as Thailand’s Department of Fisheries and in particular, with NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) that has supported the work of fisheries advisor working with the Oceanic Division operations since 2018.

During the award ceremony, the chair of the iMCSn, Mr Gary Orr, highlighted MIMRA’s contribution to the fight against IUU in the following manner:

• Leading national and regional anti-IUU activities through its world-class Port State Measures best practices.

• Supporting a rights-based management approach to the world’s largest tuna fishery.

• Ensuring robust, efficient, and effective collaboration amongst all other FFA and PNA member countries.

• Sustaining regional focus to promote uniform and transparent Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS).

• Using innovative and cutting-edge IT solutions, including electronic monitoring and reporting.

• Aggregating support from donors and the broader international community

• Ensuring the safety of the observers at sea.

• Committing to gender issues and the elimination of barriers to women

• Promoting regional solutions and effective collaboration with South-South Cooperation.

• Providing practical and effective training across a wide range of MCS functions with the support of regional partners.

• Establishing MoUs for compliance and catch data sharing with crucial processing countries.

• Unmatched levels of transparency and open information are available on their website https://www.rmimimra.com

• Establishing MoUs and collaborations with international technology and transparency partners and the iMCS Network.

At a personal level, to have been for a snd time on a podium regarding my work on the IUU area is very humbling (here are details from when I was the 1st time with my work with both FFA and Thailand’s DoF).

Beau Bigler… all around great guy and fisheries professional

And also, at a personal level, I think that a lot of the work that took MIMRA to this price was in the shoulders of my friend Beau, the great bloke in this picture… enjoy that price, mate; you totally deserve it.

Full respect!

Benefits, concerns, and solutions of fishing for tunas with drifting fish aggregation devices.

I have been writing on different aspects of drifting FADs (particularly those with sonar buoys) for a while now, as they are a paradigm-shifting technology in tuna fishing.

As with all things in fisheries (and life?), everything has advantages and disadvantages, and I explored many of them, yet until today, I have not seen a full analysis of the pros and cons of their use and potential solutions/mitigation strategies around them.

The authorship of this paper reads like a “who is who” in the FAD, Tuna and fisheries world! I’m lucky to know most of them and greatly respect their work.

The paper is critical reading, whatever your position is regarding FADs… and at 20 pages is a bit of a compendium, yet absolutely necessary as the many facets in the topic of FADs.

I’ll quote the Abstract and Conclusions, but I fully recommend you dive deep into it.(is for free)

Abstract
Drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) are human-made floating objects widely used by tropical tuna purse seine (PS) fisheries to increase catch of target species. However, dFAD use has several negative impacts, including increased potential for overfishing, higher juvenile tuna catch, higher bycatch compared to other PS fishing modes, ghost-fishing, and generation of marine litter. Based on these impacts, some stakeholders, especially environmental non-governmental organizations and other competing fishing industries, suggest that dFADs should be completely banned. We list the pros and cons of dFAD fishing; address how to improve current management; and suggest solutions for the sustainability of dFAD fishing in the long term. A dFAD ban would lead to major changes in the availability and sourcing of tuna for human consumption and decrease the licensing revenue received by many developing states. Most importantly, we argue that tools exist today to manage for, reduce or elimi- nate most of the negative impacts of dFADs (e.g., bans on discards, limits on active dFADs, biodegradable non-entangling constructions, time-area deployment closures, recovery programs, and full data transparency, among others). Management decisions based on sound scientific reasoning are needed to address the legitimate concerns surrounding dFAD use and ensure the sustainability of both pelagic and coastal ecosystems and tropical tuna PS fisheries.

CONCLUSIONS
dFAD fishing has several negative impacts on the environment, including the potential for overfishing, increased bycatch, environmental pollution, and ghost fishing, among others. However, there are a wealth of potential management solutions for reducing or eliminating these negative impacts (Table 3 above). These solutions roughly fall into three categories. The first category includes solutions that have already been extensively implemented for PS fisheries, such as detailed stock assessments for target species, high observer coverage, use of dFAD entanglement minimizing designs, and best practices for bycatch live release. Extensive advancement in these issues has occurred in all tropical tuna PS fishing areas, especially in the last decade. This does not preclude, however, the need for further improvements or scientific studies, and could improve even more if the current measures in place were strengthened and effectively enforced.

The second category includes management options that have not to date been implemented, but could be rapidly implemented, because extensive background analyses and feasibility studies have already been carried out, management experience with similar tools already exists and/or societal pressures are likely to mandate their rapid implementation. This category includes non-entangling and largely biodegradable dFADs, wider availability of dFAD data, discard bans, valorization of non-target species, spatiotemporal management, dFAD unique identifiers and ownership rules, and recovery programs. In all these cases, extensive background work for their implementation has already been carried out. For example, in order to assess the impact and effectiveness of the diverse solutions, it is necessary to obtain data on dFAD deployments, trajectories, and fates. These data already exist, but scientists and other stakeholders currently have very limited access to them (Escalle, Muller, Hare, et al., 2021). This issue could be almost immediately addressed if appropriate societal and/or political pressures were put in place.

The third category of solutions consists of very promising future innovations in PS and dFAD management that require additional research and advancement before their large-scale applicability and effectiveness can be assessed. This category includes gear modifications and PS strategies to reduce bycatch, using an enhanced understanding of target and non-target aggregative behaviour to reduce dFAD environmental impacts, fully biodegradable dFADs (i.e., including all flotation and potentially even the tracking buoy itself), echo-sounder buoys with reliable biomass estimates per species and self-navigating dFADs. These are all extremely interesting ideas for which promising proposals and/or initial trials exist, but further work is needed to realize the full promise of these solutions.

If most of these solutions were applied and enforced, fishing activities that use dFADs could be sustainable. Developing incentives with eco-labelling, co-management and MSC programs could also help to improve and motivate best practices for dFADs fishing. There are some dFADs fisheries already certified by MSC such as the Echebastar PS skipjack tuna fishery in the IO, among others. Others are in the process of MSC certification such as the PNA Western and Central Pacific skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna PS fishery on dFADs (skipjack and yellowfin unassociated is already certified). If this fishery is certified it will cover around 1.5 million mt of catch. PNA has its own control mechanism in place in the EEZs of PNA members, through the highly successful Vessel Day Scheme and annual reviews of all requirements set by WCPFC to limit the total tuna fishing effort to 2010 levels.

A ban on dFAD fishing could either reduce global food supplies or transfer food production to other methods that are less efficient and or have larger environmental impacts (e.g., higher bycatch rate), possibly risking overfishing of species that are currently fished at sustainable levels or increasing overall impacts on marine ecosystems. For these reasons, it is essential to consider the full scope of positive and negative impacts of any dFAD management initiative, including a dFAD ban, particularly in light of the many viable management solutions for reducing the negative impacts of dFADs dis- cussed here.

Finally, it is noteworthy that some of the solutions to bycatch, ghost-fishing and marine pollution identified in this study have been developed together with or by fishers (Jefferson Murua, Moreno, et al., 2023; Poisson, Séret, et al., 2014; Restrepo et al., 2018, 2019). Some key fleets have voluntarily shared with scientists data on dFAD tracking and biomass estimates, participated in research and agreed to a self-limitation on the number of dFADs to be used per vessel, even before a limit on active dFADs per vessel were mandated by different tRFMOs. The support of fishers, both to fish more sustainably and to provide data to scientists, is the product of a decade of collaborative research to mitigate dFAD-related impacts between scientists of different institutions and fishers from tropical tuna PS fleets around the world (Murua et al., 2023b). Although so-cial pressure, through environmental NGOs, led to faster progress of the fishing industry towards more sustainable fishing, numerous research projects (e.g., ISSF skippers' workshops) focused on participatory approach and co-management have generated strong connections between the fishing industry and scientists. This unprecedented scale of cooperation with hundreds of vessels taking part in research and fishers educated in best practices, will probably lead to a faster implementation of mitigation measures and solutions for the long-term sustainable fishing with dFADs.

The IMCS Network 7th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (GFETW)

And here we are, starting the 7th GFETW in Halifax. I’m not much of a guy that enjoys meetings, but this one is very special… I know and like a lot of the people here… not only the ones participating, but the organisers are people I have worked with in the past and are friends (besides colleagues), and I have learned a lot from them.

The MCS family

My friends Mark Young (the iMCS boss) and the two excellent experts working with him, Damian Johnson and Sarah Lenel, are not only at the top of their fields but have done an incredible amount of work organising all this. I have nothing more than personal and professional respect for the 3of them!

This is the 4th GFETW I’m involved with, and I have had the chance to be a panellist, which is not only a great honour, but something I would never have expected, having been a fisherman in the past.

Furthermore. with MIMRA, we are involved in two different panels around Carrier’s risk assessment and transhipments controls, and my friends (and clients) from Starboard.nz will be presenting some of the new tech tools they have developed.

The IMCS Network, in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, will hold the 7th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (GFETW) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 31 July to 4 August 2023. The IMCS Network will welcome 180 delegates from 52 countries for the only event of its kind in the world.

The GFETW is the international meeting place for those that work at the forefront of fisheries MCS, compliance, and enforcement and those that support this work at the national, regional and international levels. The event offers a forum for sharing information about the challenges facing fisheries and a place to share successful MCS and compliance initiatives and practices.

The theme for the event is Moving from Words to Action ̶ Innovative Collaborative Partnerships to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.

Global efforts to ensure long-term sustainable management of fisheries continue to face multiple complex challenges, including the ongoing threat of IUU fishing. Innovative and collaborative partnerships are an essential part of meeting this continually evolving challenge. The Workshop offers a forum to promote and facilitate these collaborative partnerships.

Global issues require global responses. This can only be achieved by effective communication, collaboration, and information exchange. The IMCS Network acts by supporting this information exchange and collaboration among the global MCS compliance and enforcement community.

“He aha te mea e kaha ai tatou………what makes us strong?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata……………it is people, it is people, it is people.
Our community represents the greatest resource in combatting IUU fishing and ensuring our marine resources are protected in the years to come. The passion, the professionalism and the commitment of those in our community is critical and without it, the world's oceans would be significantly worse off”.
Mr Gary Orr, Chair of the IMCS Network

The agenda for the Workshop is focused on themes that are relevant to the fisheries MCS, compliance and enforcement community and achieve the training intent of the Workshop. Throughout the event, participants will be introduced to effective compliance strategies, fisheries law enforcement best practices and interactive conversations about the MCS challenges and innovations for fisheries.

Tabletop exercises, panel discussions and breakout sessions have been designed to ensure participants are engaged and gain the opportunity to develop networks with their counterparts across the globe.

For more information about the GFETW visit the Workshop website:

For more information about the IMCS Network, please visit our website: https://imcsnet.org/

Connect with us on LinkedIn: @IMCS Network.

Media: Sarah Lenel, +61 408 860 935, slenel@imcsnet.org

#GFETW #IUUfishing #combatIUUfishing #getGFETWordstoAction #MWAcollaborateIUU

#stopIUUfishingaward

The ultimate review of Processing Tuna, Scombridae, for Canning

One of the issues that I found in common between the Pacific and my upbringing in the Guarani lands of northern Argentina and Paraguay is the one of respect to your elders. This was only emphasised by my time in the Navy and then fishing… you listen to and respect experience.

Processing is by far the biggest empoyer of the whole tuna value chain.

In this case, you read experience… I have been honoured to know two of the main authors of this massive review on tuna processing (Chris Lord and John Debeer), and they know their stuff encyclopedically.

In the over 30 years I have been involved with tuna, from catching through processing to market access. I have never encountered such a complete and integral document covering all the aspects of canning. This is key reference material for anyone working in this industry.

I recommend downloading and reading Processing Tuna, Scombridae, for Canning: A Review; even if processing is not your speciality, it will help you understand that getting the tuna on deck is just the start of a long and complex chain with more variables than you ever imagine, and is by far the biggest empoyer of the whole value chain.

I quote the conclusions and recommendations below, but give the original a go!

Conclusions

Commercial tuna processing is a complex operation with many individual process steps and requirements. The raw material supply lines have long time periods, as the fish may travel long distances both for migrations while alive or dead with shipping, processing, and distribution. Tunas are harvested from all of the tropical and temperate oceans, depend- ing on the species. The harvesting, onboard handling, and freezing equipment determine how the fish are frozen on the fishing vessel. The factory then determines how it is thawed, processed, and packaged in the tuna cannery. These handling and processing procedures have strict HACCP guidelines and controls for incoming testing and time-and-temperature processing scenarios. The commercial tuna processing business is very competitive, and profitability benefits from the economies of scale. Manufacturing efficiencies and benefits are facilitated with big modern factories.

Although bigger is better, cannery size does have limits, since as the cannery gets larger, the processing complexities and processing controls resulting from different processing times required for different-sized fish will eventually overwhelm the factory management.

The United Nations defined tunas and billfishes as “Highly Migratory Species” because of the vast distances these fishes travel in either temperate or tropical seas while passing in and out of the coastal zones of various countries. Some tuna swim up and down the coasts seasonally with the oceanic currents, while some make trans-oceanic migrations. Successful commercial tuna canneries require ongoing tuna deliveries for processing, while successful commercial tuna fishing boats require canneries to receive their tuna deliveries. Prior to the development of onboard refrigeration for freezing fish, the tuna-processing industry was locally focused and restricted by the distances that fishing boats could fish and return to port in a reasonable amount of time with the fish preserved on ice. The amount of catch and types of species processed depended on what was available to the fishing vessels. Once these boats had the ability to freeze the fish, transhipment became feasible and has become a common commercial practice. Refrigerated carrier vessels containing frozen raw tuna could move freely to canneries around the world, limited only by the transhipping costs, enabling commercial tuna canning to become an international business. For example, al- albacore is transhipped from Cape Town, South Africa, to a tuna can- nery in American Samoa for processing, and then the cans are shipped to and sold in New York. This harvested and frozen fish and resulting canned product travelled globally more than halfway around the world, west to east, and 74 degrees south to north, and passed through the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Hemispheres. The canned tuna business is truly a global business.

Although there are many complexities, a tuna cannery is a relatively easy factory to build using off-the-shelf and used equipment. However, the supply lines for cans and ingredients, the availability of skilled seamer mechanics and technicians, and other mechanical trades mean that tuna canneries are often difficult to operate and manage efficiently and profitably. Keeping fast-moving equipment such as seamers and labelers with very tight tolerances operating and maintained can be especially difficult when only local tradesmen are available. Scheduling many different sizes of fish for processing through a cannery on a time-sensitive or restricted basis can make for a very challenging work environment.

Maintaining absolute food safety practices while recovering the highest value from each fish is a requirement for a successful commercial tuna cannery. The recovery or yield of white or light edible meat from the purchased round tuna must be maximised into saleable products while controlling food safety and complying with HAC- CP regulatory requirements. Profit- ably using by-product streams such as fish meal, fish oil, and red meat for pet food is also a part of the challenge.

Recommendations for Improving or Maintaining High Recoveries

1. When the fish are not being processed, keep them as cold as possible and the colder, the better. Fish that have had salt penetration during freezing can suffer from drip loss during frozen storage.

2. Sort the fish by species and size at receiving and unloading. Store the same species and sizes together in the freezer for easy access and removal. Process the same-sized fish together to minimise overcooking and unnecessary energy wastage.

3. Thaw the fish to a consistent backbone temperature. Schedule and thaw the fish by size so that they arrive at the butchering table properly thawed. Avoid thawing the tuna in the precooker.

4. Thawing the fish to a uniform temperature facilitates proper precook- ing of whole fish and split pieces. Improperly thawed fish will result in overcooking the outside before the fish core thaws and heating begins. This situation will certainly lower recoveries.

5. Split the large fish into the pieces of the same thickness or precook different sizes in separate precookers.

6. Cook the tails from the same lot of fish separately if they are not the same thickness as the other split pieces. Tails can present difficulties during cleaning because of the high number of tendons. The tail meat can get very sticky to clean and needs to be cooled and treated properly: keep it moist.

7. Cook all of the fish to 60°C (140°F) or over at the core or backbone to meet the HACCP guidelines and minimize the cooling time to avoid the muscle breakdown due to the cathepsin enzymes.

8. Train the fish skinning and cleaning personnel to use consistent methods.

9. Clean the precooked tuna meat using two-stage cleaning. Keep the skinning and deboning tables separate from the cleaning tables. Maintain the fish cleaning area in a neat and clean condition. Do not mix the cleaned white or light edible meat with red meat or bone fragments.

10. Fill the cleaned edible meat into cans, pouches, or freezer bags as soon as cleaning is completed. Oxidation can occur, and moisture is lost, resulting in reduced recovery for every minute the meat is exposed after cleaning.

11. Loading the precooked loins and meat properly into the tuna filling machine conveyor can greatly improve the canned product appearance. Filling machine knives must be kept sharp. The correct filling machine formats must be used for the desired fill weights. Work with the filling machinery suppliers to optimise the loin feeding and resulting canned product appearance.

12. Be as consistent as possible. A consistent operating team can adjust times and temperatures as needed. Without this consistency, the outcomes of the needed changes cannot be accurately predicted.

Critical Issues that Confront the Tuna Processing Industry

1. Food safety: The first duty of the tuna cannery management is to produce a safe seafood product with no elevated levels of histamine, decomposition, S. aureus enterotoxin, leaking cans, and especially no viable C. botulinum spores or botulinum toxin. Ev- Everything else is secondary.

2. Sustainability: Access to fish of the usable commercial species and sizes will be a constant problem as the cost of capture and costs of processing change and fishing areas are opened and closed.

3. Scheduling: Optimal scheduling of the variety of sizes of wild-caught tuna is a never-ending, ever-changing challenge. The processing times and capacity parameters for each step of production need to be coordinated by fish size, all this while in compliance with HACCP requirements of CCP’s and CL’s for time-and-temperature is required for every processing shift. Linear programming software is available to develop a useful scheduling program. Such a program will require applying all of the inherent complexities to successfully schedule tuna through a processing factory in an optimal fashion.

4. Thawing: The critical problem is to successfully thaw smaller fish in conventional fish bins without forming an ice ball in the center of the box, as the fish softens and collapses on itself. This issue is still an unsolved problem in 2022.

Final thoughts: The fish is swimming in the ocean, someone will harvest it, someone will process it, someone will sell it, and people will purchase it to use as a high-quality source of protein. The authors hope this manuscript helps the tuna business in some small way.

Examining Indicators of Effort Creep in the WCPO Purse Seine Fishery

Among the “way too many” interests I have in fisheries science (besides management, MCS, labour and climate change), one that I have been very keen on is eFADs and “effort creep”… I wrote a lot about it, but basically, it changed tuna purse seining during my lifetime. My skills 25 years ago would be obsolete now if I had not jumped in the FAD wagon… in fact, I’ll say that the catch and size of the fleet we have today are only possible because of FADs. (and that can be seen as a bit creepy)

definitivelly a before and after in Purse seine with FADs

I see it blatantly during FAD closure, where it takes at least twice the time for a vessel to catch enough to come to port, the logarithmic growth of the eFADs tech providers and the fact they enlist carriers to deploy them on their behalf.

One of the “obscure” consequences of eFADs and other technologies (like remote oceanographic sensing, specialised drone technology, and whatever else facilitates finding fish) is what is called “effort creep”, so I’m a sucker for any publications on the topic, and as the Scientific Committee meeting of the WCPFC gets closer, the excellent crew of SPC always produce a good paper on this topic that is worth reading Examining Indicators of Effort Creep in the WCPO Purse Seine Fishery (and I recommend you do that)

I quote some aspects I find key to it, and the summary below (for the lazy of you)!

Introduction
Fisheries management controls that are based on limiting effort require ongoing monitoring to track how effectively the unit of effort continues to constrain the fishing mortality. The effectiveness of a unit of effort in catching fish can change over time due to the adoption of new technologies, gear modifications, fisher skill, enhanced communication/networking among skippers and/or access to other information such as oceanographic data that helps locate fish.

Changes in the effectiveness of fishing effort can potentially alter the expected relationship between effort and fishing mortality compared to that when the effort limits were initially established, and this may undermine the achievement of management objectives.

 Gradual or abrupt change in fishing effectiveness, within an effort-based management framework, is generally referred to as “effort creep”. While effort creep can be positive for a fishing industry when it reduces the cost and environmental impacts of harvesting fish, management systems that rely on effort controls may need to consider adjusting effort limits over time to account for effort creep. Finally, industry adaption to effort based management can also lead to sub-optimal investment in operational aspects, such as technology, whereby the effectiveness of harvesting fish may increase but the cost required to harvest them increases disproportionately.

Effort creep can be difficult to quantify because it is composed of both direct and indirect components.
The direct components relate to nominal fishing effort (e.g. vessel fishing days, number of net hauls, sets or hook deployments etc.), while the indirect components may relate to factors related to technology uptake (‘technology creep’), slight gear modifications, increased information and networking, increased knowledge and skills of individual fishers. These aspects may not influence the amount of nominal fish effort, but they can influence the effectiveness of each unit of effort, i.e., the effectiveness of a purse seine net set to catch a certain volume of fish. While the direct components of effort are relatively easy to measure and track, the influence of indirect components on fishing effectiveness are challenging to quantify.

For the pacific island countries parties to PNA, the effort management unit is ‘the vessel day’, which refers to any day that is related to harvesting fish, and thus includes days in which nets are deployed and days when searching is conducted but a net is not necessarily deployed. Under the VDS system, most days when a vessel is within a member EEZ will initially be counted and charged as vessel days, but the days can be reduced through a process of claiming for non-fishing days according to specific criteria. Purse seine fishing outside of PNA member EEZs and archipelagic waters is managed by flag specific limits on catch or effort as specified in the Tropical Tuna Conservation and Management Measure CMM 2021-01. Further effort in archipelagic waters of some countries that are members of the PNA may not be managed under the VDS (i.e. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands).

FAD dynamics and implications
Using fishery data combined with FAD tracking information, it was estimated that at the scale of the WCPOthere were 31,000 FAD buoy deployments in 2016 and approximately 34,500 in 2017, 39,500 in 2018 and 33,400 in 2019. If these estimates are reliable this means the number of FAD buoys deployed per year issimilar to the number of FAD sets per year. The median number of active buoys monitored per vessel per day ranged from 45 to 75 depending on the year, well below the current management limit of 350. It remains unclear how close the number of FAD buoy deployments is to the number of actual FAD rafts deployed, as raft theft and buoy change over is considered a common occurrence. More work is required to better estimate the number of FAD raft deployments to account for theft and exchange of buoys, and any trends in these activities. FAD density may influence catch rates along with FAD technologies (e.g., sonar-equipped FADs)and these factors could both influence changes in fishing strategies and catch rates. Integration of FAD information is a continued priority for future work to increase understanding of the indirect and difficult to measure drivers of effort creep.

Summary
Understanding effort creep as it relates to effort-based management requires coupling changes in nominal effort indicators, in this case purse seine sets, with changes in the effectiveness of nominal fishing effort, in this case the effectiveness of purse seine sets in catching tuna. This paper presents simple aggregated annual estimates of indicators of nominal effort creep in terms of numbers of purse seine sets per year and per fishing day, and the effectiveness of nominal effort in terms of catch rates per set. For both types of indicators there were no long-term trends since the implementation of the VDS system, either for the PNA waters under the management of the VDS or non PNA waters where the fishery is managed under flag specific catch or fishing day limits. The lack of trend in catch rates per set was also consistent for associated and unassociated set types. While there was considerable interannual variability in the indicators, the lack of sustained increasing trends suggest that despite the implementation of an effort based management systems based on fishing days, there was not an overall increase in the amount of nominal effort realised within the fishing day effort unit.

We do note however that at the introduction of the VDS there was a major increase in the total number of sets each year for PNA waters, largely driven by an increase in the number of unassociated sets. This step change may be a result of the change in the management system, but is not indicative of effort creep. In fact this change is entirely consistent with an increase in the number of fishing days from 2009 to 2010, and there is no notable increase in sets/day over the same period. We note that the aggregated nature of the data presented does not preclude that nominal and effective effort creep could be occurring for specific flags and EEZs. A more detailed analysis at flag and EEZ level is required to explore this possibility. Finally, it is clear that increases in effectiveness of associated sets did occur prior to the VDS implementation that appeared related to the transition to dominant use of drifting FADs facilitated by the availability of affordable satellite tracking buoys.

Despite the increased use of technologies such as acoustic sensors on FAD bouys, we did not see any sustained increase in catch rates per set for associated sets since the VDS was implemented. This is a somewhat surprising result in light of industry perceptions that FAD technologies have been a major contributor to improving their effectiveness. It may be that the FAD technologies have improved the efficiency and economics of fishing operations (i.e. time and travel) to the extent that employing these technologies improves profitability but that they have not been so effective in increasing catch rates per set or capacity for higher setting rates per day.

The lack of positive trends in catch rates per set is, however, not entirely conclusive that no efficiency creep is occurring. If increased efficiency at catching fish is occurring against a backdrop of stock decline, it could result in stable catch rates per set (i.e., the effort/efficiency creep compensates for declining stock abundance/availability). Furthermore, even if efficiency creep is not occurring the highly selective nature of purse seine fishing (both associated and unassociated modes) can result in hyperstable catch rates per set even when the stock may be declining or even increasing. The strong potential for hyperstability in purse seine catch rates presents an issue when interpreting how these data indicate both stock trends and effort creep. The catchability proxy included in this analysis considers daily catch rates in relation to biomass estimates. In a scenario where harvest efficiency is stable, catch rates would be expected to decline as biomass declines. The increasing trend in the catchability proxy for purse seine skipjack suggests that increased capture efficiency may be offsetting the recent estimated decline in biomass from the 2022 stock assessment. This may be influencing the stability in the catch rate indicators.

Effort creep can have implications for the performance of the VDS in relation to meeting stock conservation objectives and economic returns to PNA members. Increased efficiency could have at least three implications:
i) if vessels can catch more fish in one day they may not need to purchase as many days,
ii) if fishers can catch more fish in one day without incurring significant additional cost, the value of a day could be higher, and
iii) if fishers can catch more fish in one day this could undermine the ability of the VDS to constrain fishing mortality to the expected level.
The aggregated data presented in this study suggest the variation in catches per day is dominated by interannual variation that is likely difficult to predict.

However, it is possible that different EEZs and or flags may show different patterns and or sustained trends in catch rates per set or sets per day that could be of interest to individual PNA members for optimizing economic returns from their allocations of VDS days. These higher resolution type analyses are beyond the scope of this paper but could be considered in future work, subject to data confidentiality and SPC staff time. The indicators presented do not suggest that overall effort creep is undermining the VDS control on fishing mortality compared to when it was implemented. In this analysis, we have examined catch and effort indicators independently from vessel characteristic indicators ( e.g., vessel length, GRT, well capacity); further analyzing changes in catch rates with respect to changes in vessel characteristics or technologies employed may improve our ability to assess effort creep. Continued research into the development of suitable effort creep indicators should focus on these integrated analyses, including improved understanding of changes in operational decision making and fishing strategies influenced by advances in technology. This would require closer collaboration with industry which has proven difficult. We would encourage enhanced data collection or reporting of technology and information sources used by purse seine fishing operations. We also note the importance of enhanced data collection from the fishery, including the wide array of drifting FADs throughout the Pacific. Building a more complete and accessible database with information on the location, movement, and characteristics of FADs should enhance these analyses. In addition, Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data will become increasingly important as we investigate changes in fisher behaviour over time.

SPC looks forward to continuing to work with the PNA on effort creep in the purse fishery.

The present at my feet

Asked Squarespace AI to write this blog post

Everyone is talking about it, so I thought about giving it a go since my website/blogging platform offers it for free.

I asked AI to write about IUU and if fisheries ecolabels are any good?. To be honest, I’m mildly impressed, and it would be stupid for political speech writers and journalists not to take a hint since it is much better than many of the speeches that I heard ministers say or "news" that one reads normally.

Overall nothing new… but congruent nevertheless… yet we shall see where all this takes us. May I ask about it again in a year.

Decide for yourself; this is verbatim what AI “wrote”:

Picture still real!

Tell me about IUU fishing.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses a significant threat to the sustainability and health of our oceans and fisheries. As global demand for seafood continues to rise, combating this detrimental practice becomes increasingly crucial. Fortunately, governments, international organizations, and local communities have been working tirelessly to address IUU fishing and implement measures to protect our marine resources.
One of the primary strategies used to combat IUU fishing is the establishment and enforcement of stricter regulations and laws. Governments around the world have recognized the urgency to defend their marine ecosystems and have implemented measures such as vessel monitoring systems, satellite tracking, and onboard surveillance to deter and detect illegal fishing activities. These technologies enable authorities to identify suspicious behavior and take immediate action against offenders.
Furthermore, international collaborations between countries have proven to be essential in combating IUU fishing. Through regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and multilateral agreements, nations are coordinating their efforts to address illegal fishing in shared waters. These partnerships foster information sharing, joint surveillance operations, and data analysis, resulting in better enforcement and a more robust system to combat IUU fishing across borders.
Strengthening port controls has also become a critical component in combating IUU fishing. Implementing strict inspection measures at ports ensures that seafood products entering the market are legally caught, reported, and regulated. By conducting thorough inspections and verifying the authenticity of catch documentation, authorities can prevent illegally acquired fish from reaching the market and disincentivize offenders.
Raising public awareness is another essential aspect of combating IUU fishing. Educating consumers and urging them to make sustainable seafood choices can significantly impact market demand. By supporting well-managed fisheries and certifying sustainable seafood products through reputable organizations, consumers play a vital role in incentivizing legal fishing practices and discouraging IUU activities.
Moreover, empowering local communities in fishing areas is key to combating IUU fishing. Many illicit fishing operations occur in regions where poverty and lack of alternative livelihoods prevail. By investing in education, infrastructure, and sustainable economic development, we can offer affected communities the opportunity to pursue legal and sustainable fishing practices, reducing the incentives for IUU activities.
In conclusion, combating IUU fishing requires a multi-faceted approach that involves the collaborative efforts of governments, international organizations, local communities, and consumers. Stricter regulations, international cooperation, robust port controls, public awareness, and community empowerment

Are Fisheries Ecolabels any good?
Fisheries ecolabels have gained popularity in recent years as a tool to promote sustainable fishing practices. These labels, often awarded by independent certification bodies, aim to inform consumers about the environmental impact of the seafood they purchase. While the intention behind fisheries ecolabels is commendable, their efficacy and overall impact remain subject to debate.
One of the key arguments in favor of fisheries ecolabels is that they provide consumers with transparent information about the sustainability of the seafood they buy. By displaying a recognizable ecolabel on their product, fisheries can communicate their adherence to certain environmental standards. This may influence consumer behavior and encourage the demand for sustainably sourced fish, thus incentivizing responsible fishing practices.
Proponents also argue that the certification process behind fisheries ecolabels encourages fisheries to assess and improve their sustainability practices. In order to obtain an ecolabel, fisheries must meet specific criteria established by the certification body. This raises awareness within the industry about the need for sustainable management and can encourage positive change in fishing practices.
However, critics question the effectiveness of fisheries ecolabels in achieving genuine sustainable outcomes. Some argue that the criteria for certification may not be stringent enough, resulting in cases where ecolabeled products do not meet consumers' expectations in terms of sustainability. This can erode consumer trust in the credibility of ecolabels and undermine their intended purpose.
Moreover, fisheries ecolabels often focus primarily on the environmental aspects of fishing, potentially overlooking other critical factors. They may not adequately address social and economic aspects, such as labor rights, fair wages, or the impacts on local communities. True sustainability ought to encompass a holistic approach that considers the entire ecosystem, as well as the well-being of people involved in the fishing industry.
Another significant concern is the potential for "greenwashing" – the act of giving a misleading impression of environmental responsibility. Some fisheries might view obtaining an ecolabel as a marketing opportunity rather than a genuine commitment to sustainability. If certification bodies do not rigorously evaluate and monitor the certified fisheries, the ecolabel could lose credibility and become merely a marketing gimmick.
In conclusion, fisheries ecolabels have the potential to play a positive role in promoting sustainable fishing practices. They allow consumers to make informed choices and can drive positive change within the industry. However, the effectiveness of these labels is dependent on robust certification criteria, transparent auditing practices, and a holistic approach to sustainability.

Rights, Obligations, Prohibitions: A Practical Guide to Understanding Judicial Decisions on Coastal State Jurisdiction over Living Resources in the EEZ.

Back in 2017 when we wrote with Gilles Hosch the FAO "green book", Seafood traceability for fisheries compliance – Country-level support for catch documentation schemes, I realised that was a “legal tension” between the rights and obligations when it came to certifying the legality of catches in between flag states and coastal states where the harvest took place.

 The legalese in between words like “primary responsibility” on the flag state side, the “rights” of coastal states, did evade me at the time… then when last year I got involved in the Rhodes Academy of Ocean Law Policy, some very smart legal minds I got to meat over, a lot of those questions got echoed, and while sometimes not totally answered at least context makes them clearer, and I explored some aspects here.

 Yet only now I got this 2018 paper by my colleague Camille Goodman, surely a precursor to her book on the Coastal State Jurisdiction over Living Resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone, which I highly recommend

 As usual, her work is excellent…. Please read the original, in the meantime, I quote the abstract and conclusions.

 Abstract

Given the ambiguous, open-ended and highly qualified nature of the legal framework governing the coastal State’s regulation of living resources in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), there is an important role for international courts and tribunals in reviewing the innovations and interpretations offered by coastal States, and clarifying the meaning of relevant provisions. In light of the significant body of jurisprudence that is now available in this area, this article seeks to provide some practical guidance regarding the nature and extent of coastal State jurisdiction over living resources in the EEZ, by reference to the approaches taken by international courts and tribunals.

Conclusion

From the Truman Proclamation to the establishment of straight baselines and extended fishery zones, unilateral assertions of jurisdiction have played a decisive role in changing and developing the law of the sea. However, the establishment of new or innovative precedents within the laboriously negotiated and widely ratified framework of the LOSC is likely to present significant challenges, and ‘unsuccessful unilateralism is far more likely today to result not merely in protest, but in litigation, and probable defeat’. Accordingly, it is important for coastal States to develop a clear understanding of the rights, obligations and prohibitions that apply under the LOSC, in order to find effective and workable solutions to the contemporary challenges of fisheries governance within the limits of existing law. Given the role of the dispute settlement system in ensuring the uniform application and interpretation of the LOSC, the growing body of jurisprudence from international courts and tribunals contains much useful guidance for coastal States to consider in this regard. At the same time, it is also important to reflect on the broader, combined effect of this jurisprudence, and to ask whether international courts and tribunals are fulfilling their role in striking the balance required to effectively maintain the compromise embedded in the regime for the EEZ.

In this regard, the key recurring theme in the jurisprudence is the concept of reasonableness in all its forms: reasonableness in the rule of due regard, and what coastal States must do; reasonableness in the margin of appreciation and what coastal States may do; and reasonableness in terms of the enforcement measures that are necessary to ensure compliance with the coastal State’s laws, and what coastal States may not do. However, the approach to – and the application of – ‘reasonableness’ is different in each of these situations. In particular, international courts and tribunals are likely to take a more generous approach to assessing the reasonableness of prescriptive exercises of jurisdiction by the coastal State, and a narrower, more textual approach to the reasonableness of enforcement jurisdiction. Appropriately enough, this approach finds its basis in the way that the balance between coastal State rights and flag State obligations in the EEZ is struck in the LOSC itself. The sui generis legal frame- work that is established in the LOSC for the EEZ implicitly gives the predominant role in enforcement to the flag State, by placing limits on the enforcement rights of the coastal State. However, this must not be interpreted so strictly as to reduce the enforcement jurisdiction that has been assigned to the coastal State under the LOSC; to do so would undermine the coastal State’s prescriptive jurisdiction, and reduce the effectiveness of the careful compromise that is embodied in the EEZ concept.

Ideally, the interpretation of the EEZ regime would take into account the overall scheme of the LOSC and consider not only the rights but the obligations of the coastal State with respect to the living resources of the EEZ, and the nature and extent of regulatory powers that might be needed to give effect to those obligations. It is thus encouraging that recent decisions and opinions of international courts and tribunals show some evidence of a departure from the traditional sectoral approach toward a more integrated understanding of the LOSC, such as the interpretation of flag State obligations so as to include responsibility with respect to activities of their fishing vessels in the EEZ of a coastal State, and the recognition of due diligence obligations for all States to protect and preserve the marine environment in all maritime zones. Perhaps such increased recognition of the obligations that are embedded in the LOSC will assist courts and tribunals to take a more integrated approach to the interpretation of the rights to which they correlate, as they continue to pursue the crucial task of providing consistent interpretation and application of the legal framework for circumstances where the only certainty is constant change.

My take on: Remotely assessing the potential of at-sea transhipment events via AIS/VMS

Following the advancement of technologies and platforms using AIS in the last few years (and events like the Sun Flower 7), many discussions have arisen around classifying the contact between two vessels at sea as a transhipment. Most of the present classifications are based on the time that both vessels are alongside each other and, in some cases, if these vessels are a fish carrier and an FV.

if it was only so easy

So I have been dwelling on writing something of help about it. I originally wanted to make an information-type paper of sorts, yet it is challenging to articulate it in a traditional paper structure as there is no thesis to prove, and the overlapping nature of the factors at sea cannot be easily categorised into a risk-based matrix, as (at least in my tiny brain) there is not a fully defined rank of priorities that can be mathematically defined as to be in an algorithm.

From my experience at sea, it is never just one fact, many others relate to many operational aspects, such as weather, design of vessels, sizes of hatches, type of gear, logistics of salt in PS or bait in LL and so on. Hence the probabilities of transhipment between two vessels going alongside respond to a matrix of possibilities and cannot be defined by any single event.

As an overall approach, I will discuss the variables identified over separate “thematic” areas… yet with the caveat that there are overlapping between them, and in no way or form do I claim this is a definitive list.

To start, let us agree that transhipment is defined by the FAO TS guidelines (which I was proud to be part of) “Transshipment” means the direct transfer of any quantity of fish onboard from one vessel to another vessel regardless of the location of the event, without the fish being recorded as landed;

Reasons for vessels to get together?
To be honest… pretty much everything, my personally weirdest situation was to deliver to a fellow skipper the ashes of his dad (a hardcore anarchist) that wanted his remains to be dispersed on the high seas and in no one’s territory… so… basically you can think it, chances are, it can happen.

Salt Bags in the wet deck of a PS

Transferring of “consumables” is a massive reason why carriers get together with FV, but also Carrier to Carrier may get alongside. Based on a study I did in 2021 for the FFA membership, a conservative annual estimate of 15,000,000 bait cartons are used by the Long Line fleet (approximately 2000 vessels), and around 2,800,000 bags of salt (which is over 140000 tons) are used by the PS fleet to prepare the freezing brine, and most of this is delivered by carriers to FV.

Furthermore, add to these monstrous numbers, above a substantial amount of parts, fishing gear, FADs supplies, oil, food and crew are moved in between vessels.

Why not get them to port, you may rightfully ask… well… port infrastructure in the Pacific is limited and expensive (just on salt would be around 7000 containers a year). Furthermore, all these goods would have to enter a “bonded port warehouse/area” not to pay import duties since they are not really imported into a country since they will be used elsewhere, and all that requires space, complexity, capacity, money, people, control systems… and all that is hard to develop in the region.

Crew wise is not just due to people being considered “goods” but because the reality that it is virtually impossible to get transit visas via Australia, NZ and USA (the 3 main airline hubs feeding the Pacific, yet at the same time the champions of crew rights) if you are poor -i.e. no credit card- and from SE Asia or Africa.

Finally, while possible, in my experience, in over 90% of FV to FV encounters, there is not fish transhipment… but goods, crew, parts, net panels, lubricants, chemicals and sometimes salt or bait. In very good weather, with low fish catch rates, and between vessels whose masters are from the same region (even if their vessels are flagged to different countries), getting alongside can also be social.

This is not to be confused with “net to hatch” operations in PS… as it tends to be regulated, it usually includes the presence of observers in both vessels and is not part of what we define as transhipment.

So getting at sea for transhipment is just one of at least 5/6 reasons vessels get alongside…  yet of course, the more stuff you exchange, including fish, the more time you need together, as generally, bait, parts, salt, food, etc. are not stored at the same place than fish, so they need to be moved from wherever they are to the area of crane access, also very rarely fish go one way, and goods the other as the logistics of bringing fish to the deck of the FV and getting it into the holds of the carrier are very different to those of getting goods from the carrier and sending them to the FV.

Where will they meet?
That is mostly a function of the type of vessels and the jurisdictions in which they fish. In the WCPO, PS will meet with carriers and other FV for goods transfers and not for transhipment at sea, as there forbid, furthermore, there is back 100% observer coverage… also PS transhipments take a long time (as we will discuss later), will focus mainly on LL.

In the case of LL, the situation is different due to the impracticability exemption of the WCPFC CMM 2009-06, which requires WCPFC Members to make vessel-specific determinations as to impracticability and submit a plan detailing the steps being taken to encourage transhipment in port (which has not happened yet). Unfortunately, transhipment on the high seas has become the norm for some fleets rather than the exception. Over 50% of the almost 3000 longline vessels in the region are registered to tranship on the high seas.

Most high seas transhipments in the WCPO occur outside the Pacific coastal countries' exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The fleet managers of the Longliners pre-arrange rendezvous points with the carriers' managers, and meetings take place in these pre-arranged locations based on where most of the LL is at expected times, and the carrier's schedule also depends on the weather.

Yet some of these rendezvous points seem to be very stable over time, for example, the Seishin a Korean carrier very active in the WCPO LL transhipment scene, meets on successive trips FS vessels in the HS pocket out of FSM at very similar positions in the equatorial calms 0.35 S/160.00S

seishin likes the spot… this are te trasnhimentes in 2 different trips February and April 2023, with roughly the same Longliners

the Seishin trips this year January to March and then again April to May 2023, always outside EEZ or in HS pockets

The logistics of getting vessels alongside at sea.

Rule #1: Skippers may be the boss on board, but the weather is the king at sea.

Weather ALWAYS decides

Getting vessels alongside is not something that any skipper does just for fun, it is already complicated when the weather is fine, and it gets exponentially worse when the weather gets rougher.

Skippers need to be aware of the right approach angle between the manoeuvring fishing vessel and the carrier’s constant heading, then the speed of approach in the function of wind and sea conditions, then the swinging of both carrier and FV, since the FV failing to appreciate the swing can cause serious damage, particularly after their bring down engine power, among other many other issues.

I described the overall process in the carrier's inspection guide is did for TMT, but basically, we have:

Alongside (ropes tied) – the fishing vessel comes alongside the carrier vessel. The carrier lowers large (Yokoyama) fenders are lowered from the carrier vessel before FV comes towards the carrier vessel, generally from the rewards side, now most carrier masters (and depending on the design) secure arriving vessels of the port side of the carrier, but sometimes it may be on starboard, but as said in most cases leeward side. Ropes are secured at the bow first and then at the stern (if there is a problem, the carrier master faces a bit of the wind, and the stern will come alongside by itself).

Depending on the weather and the size difference in between the freeboards of both vessels, this manoeuvre can take up to 30 minutes. Note from here is when things start to vary, the more we move towards transhipment, the more deck arrangements, cranes set up and manning, hatches openings, nets in between the vessels, pallets, chutes, etc need to be made, and the longer it takes.

It is important to understand the operational range of a carrier crane (is always the carrier crane doing the transfers) needs t align with the very reduced open area of the Longliner, they can’t load and unload from any part… it is most of the time an arad of 6 to mt long and 4 to 6 wide only.

Again, depending on the weather, this can take another 30-40 minutes to set up everything (cranes, nets in between the vessels, pallets, chutes, etc.  Hence in best-case scenarios, it may take 40 to 60 minutes from the time both vessels get in rope throwing distance from each other.

Movement of fish and goods in between vessels
Things move in between vessels in cargo nets and/or “strings” in the case of LL. In LL most frozen fish fish has a closed loop of monofilament drilled through their carcass (generally at the caudal end) to help with their movements and transfer, most likely added when the fish were hauled onboard the longliner. When moving the fish in “strings” a closed circle of thick rope is passed through the monofilament loops to cluster the fish together. Then ends of the looped rope go in the hook at the end of the carrier's winch/boom cable and that way they pass over (see pictures below)

Most transhipping longliners (Asian fleet) longliners have a very similar same deck configuration, so is not really possible to do two things at once (receiving goods and sending over fish). They have small hatches, one or two on deck, one more central, and two equally sized hatches towards the stern and bow end of the deck, and these may be horizontal ones on dry lockers.

Fish is tied up to the hook of the carrier winch and passed over to the carrier either in strings or cargo nets…. The bottleneck for speed is how much fish cons come at once through the hatches (as you can see in the picture above on the left), and not the size of the nets.

While the fish is being transferred, the crew manually or using a small winch/pulleys system moves the fish from holds and lockers to the deck to then get into nets and or stings… this is the process that defines the speed of transhipment.

Also, there is the loading strategy of the master... initially, you want to keep species separated to facilitate transhipping, but you also need to consider the boat stability and fishing rates per species of the trip before; sometimes is all YF and so on.

Some of the rates of ALB TS are faster than other species, this is because it tends to be a much more target-specific fishery. Therefore, you have much albacore being stored next to each other, which makes the process easier.. .vessels targeting albacore in the South are quite more homogenous in the catch rates over the tropical ones. 

Then when vessels get alongside, you may only have a contract to unload Albacore, for example, and have to crawl to the guts of the freezer and sort them out, 1 by 1, other times, you retain YF and BET and send by-catch away... again 1 by 1. 

Furthermore, you may be receiving supplies and bait as well, and that needs to go where fish is not coming out, so it gets quite logistic sometimes.

Crew rest
Carriers are commercial vessels under ILO and IMO rulings, unlike fishing vessels, the crew on board are seafarers and not fishers, and their working conditions are more controlled, including food breaks and crew rest. And while there is variability, these are mostly respected.

Transhipment rates?
This depends on many factors, but fundamentally how much fish is transferred and what method is used (nets or strings). A reasonable estimate is around 10 tons an hr for nets in LL and around 7-8 for strings. This is measured from the time of the first transfer until the last.

Any time calculation must include stoppages for rain, weather, rest and movement of fish between hatches and cargo transfer occasionally. My friend Deidre Brogan reports total transhipment times in between 10 and 53 hours. But none below 10 hrs is something I will agree to.

It can be possible that they may get together for a while to do some transhipment and or goods transfer, and then separate because of weather or to re-arrange loads and then get back alongside … so times can be added over events, yet the time to get alongside will have to be accounted every time.

For Purse Seiners is totally different, the size of the hatches on the deck is the limiting factor in terms of the speed of unloading. This is due to the volumes of fish that fit in a net that comes from the well through the hatch onto the deck.

As it can be seen in the pictures below:

Is not possible to have a full exact rule of the volumes coming out at once, yet older vessels with up to 1000-ton carrying capacities, such as those of Taiwanese and Japanese origin, have nets with 700 to 800kg being brought at once. Newer American, Korean and USA-made vessels cap at around 1200-1 700 kg while the bigger European vessels cap lift up to 2 500 kg at once.

You could be doing, in the best-case scenario 10 to 15 transfers per hr, so depending on the type of vessel, we have 9 to 25-30 ton/hr

Weather rules

Weather/ Sea conditions
Having two vessels alongside, mainly when there is a big size difference between them, is an intrinsically risky situation.

Once vessels are alongside, even small changes in sea conditions can change the heaving, swaying and surging of the smaller vessel, which may lead to the separation of vessels until conditions get better.

Separating / Off siding
Separating is a fast manoeuvre as you let the weather play in your favour, and ropes are let go more easily than when getting alongside. It can take 5-10’

When is it worth doing a TS?
One thing that is not usually part of the discussion is what will be gained from a TS? At sea is all about money, and volumes are accounted for since money is always involved, so you, as a LL are going to get with another vessel for transferring 10 mt? what is the point of that, you would have spent more in fuel to get to the rendezvous point than the advantage gained for the TS.

Of course, high-value fish, like bluefin tuna, will skew the reasons… you could pass a few tons of deep-frozen BF (-35 to -60C) to a carrier with the capacity to maintain such temperatures (not many around)… nevertheless, the whole logistics of the manoeuvring and travel time still apply.

Conclusion
It is complicated… it depends… and all those answers we hate (but are a reality in fisheries)

All that I wrote here is to show that there are no simple answers to complicated questions. It is not linear. Not to say that: How long do two vessels need to be together at sea to be considered a TS? It is a totally valid question I tried to answer.

So again, considering all the caveats on everything I wrote, the generalised assumption that there is a potential for transhipment off longliners for encounters in between of less than 4 -5 hrs is one that I find difficult to digest.

Remember that it takes up to 1 hr for vessels to get alongside and prepare everything for TS, and then at best, do 10 tons/hr for a LL vessel that can carry 200 to 500 tons. Even for 4 hrs of transhipment, we are talking 30 tons at best… and as said is not always possible to do fish one way, bait and parts the other,

So, for Longline, I will go to almost nil probability around less than 4 hrs, low for 4 to 6. Medium 6 to 9 and high above 9 hrs

For Purse Seiners, I will suspect a TS only after 24 hrs aside, and reminding that this could take various in and outs of the vessels over a few days.

So… not sure if it helps anyone, but if it at least makes you realise that it is not linear, I’m happy with that. Of course, if you suspect a potential transhipment… then nothing beats boarding once the vessel gets to port and finding evidence.

Social harvest control rules for sustainable fisheries

I have been going on about harvest control rules for a while now (I started to work on them back when I was in FAO ROME in 2009) and had a go in December last year at the “scaremongering” driven by the MSC, and some of their lobby groups are way more about their fear of losing money and their relevance in a world that is starting to see beyond their business model rather than the long-term SKJ sustainability and actually accused them of being quite colonial when pointing fingers FFA, PNA & SPC that have been working on this for a long time, and look at the HCR form their perspectives as the owners of tuna in the region and the main interested one in the biological but as well social sustainability of the resource.

Hence, I had a very interested look when I read the title of this new paper, and smiled when I realized that the main author is my friend and colleague Kate M. Barclay, (whom I admire and have been honoured to collaborate in the past), as well as Megan Bailey and a cast of thousands from Wageningen University.

Furthermore is a Ghoti paper, which is my favourite type of paper in the Fish and Fisheries journal.

Their take is in for suggesting that social issues should be brought into HCRs for two reasons:

First, fisheries policy objectives are usually a combination of biological objectives (such as healthy marine ecosystems) and socio-economic objectives (such as fleet profitability,  sustaining coastal communities).  Even simple socio-economic objectives, such as fleet profitability, may be used to determine optimal fisheries policy. Currently, most of the effort and skills of fisheries scientists and managers goes into determining total allowable catch (TAC) in relation to biological criteria. Putting one or more quantifiable and relevant social considerations centrally into the analysis for decisions about catch will lead to better alignment with socio-economic objectives.

Second, by making socio-economic objectives implicit rather than explicit the legitimacy of policy and management risks being undermined. Social HCRs (sHCRs) could enable trade-offs between social and biological objectives to be made explicit and feed into pre-defined mechanisms, including compensation or allowing continued fishing in recognition of social benefits, or phased approaches to fisheries reform.

Over the long term, introducing sHCRs could be part of moving management beyond assumptions that biologically sustainable fisheries will inevitably lead to generalised societal benefits, and instead make explicit social benefits and losses for particular groups within society on the basis of specific management strategies.

It is an interesting take and one that makes you shift perspectives and see things from a different angle, and in my (surely not relevant) opinion, that is always a good thing.

As usual, read the original (is for free), I quote the abstract and conclusions below.

Abstract
Fisheries are supposed to be for the benefit of society, producing food, providing livelihoods and enabling cultural continuity. Biological productivity goals for fish stocks operationalised through Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) are central to contemporary fisheries management. While fisheries policies often state socio-economic objectives, such as enhancing the livelihoods of coastal communities, those are rarely, if ever, in- corporated into operationalised management procedures. The lack of articulation of social objectives and lack of monitoring of social outcomes around HCRs amounts to poor public policy. In this article, we explore the potential for social HCRs (sHCRs) with reference points and agreed predefined actions to make the social dimensions of fisheries explicit. sHCRs cannot cover all social dimensions, so should be considered as one tool within a broader framework of fisheries governance. Moreover, successful sHCRs would require sound deliberative and participatory processes to generate legitimate social objectives, and monitoring and evaluation of fisheries management performance against those objectives. We introduce two potential types of sHCRs, one based on allocation of catch within biological limit reference points, and one for when fishing exceeds biological limit reference points. The application of sHCRs, we argue, can fos- ter accountability and help avoid non-transparent negotiations on size and distribution of the catch. Our proposal is a call to action for policy makers and fisheries managers to properly integrate social criteria into fisheries governance, and for both biophysical fisheries scientists and social scientists to do better in practical collaboration for methods and knowledge development to support this integration.

CONCLUSION
Our call for sHCRs does not replace bHCRs. Instead, building on systems already established for biological management, we argue that sHCRs can be one element in improving fisheries management by making social objectives and impacts explicit and requiring fishery managers, fishers and politicians alike to openly deliberate them in a socially inclusive, equitable and evidence-based manner. Implementing sHCRs would require identifying and prioritising social objectives, then building datasets and monitoring systems for evaluating progress towards those objectives. Scientific evaluation of the social performance of fisheries will be a significant step for- ward over the current situation where, if social objectives are in- cluded at all in fisheries management (such as ‘stability’ through the EU common fisheries policy, see Condie et al., 2014), these benefits are assumed, rather than assessed. Such a process would also make explicit and assessable claims that social goals are achieved through good environmental stewardship. sHCRs can be used to make a sub-set of the social objectives of fishing operational and measurable in management. In doing so, sHCRs can contribute to addressing the enduring challenge of ensuring that the social dimensions of sustainability are central to fisheries policy.

We hope this article generates debate amongst biologists and social scientists alike to recognize that setting HCRs is by definition an interdisciplinary undertaking. Social objectives are implicitly included in the operation of bHCRs and bHCRs inherently have social effects. Developing sHCRs is one way of marrying biological and social objectives in fisheries. By making a priori decisions on who gets how much fish under specified conditions sHCRs could provide a framework for a politics of distributional justice informed by scientific evidence. We also propose that sHCRs could improve the policy process in situations where fishing occurs beyond what is biologically recommended. While it may be unpalatable to allow for overfishing in fisheries management, even temporarily, the reality is that overfishing is already often allowed for social reasons and that the policy process around such decisions is poor. sHCRs can provide a transparent framework for assessing and holding fisheries agencies accountable for achieving social objectives. Where temporary overfishing is deemed socially necessary, sHCRs provide a means of setting justification for it, evaluating the outcomes and pre-decided plans for rebuilding stocks afterwards. Making more explicit which social objectives are pursued through sHCRs may also enhance the legitimacy of HCRs by providing clarity on the social relevance of setting biological references and limits. sHCRs may even open up debate around the wider role of HCRs in fisheries where stakeholders have struggled to see the relevance of, or lacked the willingness to set bHCRs. 

Inter-generational equity and the opportunity to 'hear well'

 What are the legal consequences for States who have caused climate harm not just to existing States, but also to ‘past and future generations’ of people affected by climate change?

That is a compelling question that immediately called my attention to an essay!.

Kiritimati Island

Since my relatively recent involvement in the law of the sea realm, I'm getting fascinating info from different aspects that relate to labour rights, fisheries, climate change and the Pacific… in these last two topics, plus my entrenched views on colonialism and development. This recent essay, “General principles, inter-generational equity and the ICJ advisory opinion on climate change: An opportunity to hear well” by Imogen Saunders, an Associate Professor at the ANU College of Law and Director of the Centre for International and Public Law, on her University website, did really facinated me, so I quote it here below in its entirety…. But please also refer to the original since many other essays may interest you.

In 29 March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution which requested the International Court of Justice to give an Advisory Opinion on the obligation owed by States concerning climate change.  This resolution came at the request of Vanuatu, and was first the initiative of law students at the University of the South Pacific who formed the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.

As well as requesting the ICJ to consider the obligations of States to ensure the protection of the climate system and the environment, the UNGA Resolution also asks the ICJ to consider the legal consequences for States who have caused climate harm not just to existing States but also to ‘past and future generations’ of people affected by climate change.

This consideration of liability to future generations presents an opportunity for the ICJ, and for States making written statements to the Court, to make use of Article 38(1)(c) of the Court’s Statute and embrace legal pluralism in a deeply meaningful fashion to consider custom and traditional laws and practices of peoples - many of which will be the most impacted by the effects of climate change and rising sea levels.

This concept of owing duties to future generations is not new.  Often referred to as inter-generational equity, it is the idea that humans must use resources in a way not only that is fair to those living and relying on them now, but also in a way that is fair to those who will need those resources in the future.  It is enshrined in soft law environmental law instruments, such as the Rio Declaration Principle 3.  However it has not yet been found to be a general and binding rule of international law.  This upcoming Advisory Opinion could change this, and the under-utilised third source of international law might be the best way to achieve this. 

Article 38(1)(c) sets out the third source of international law that the ICJ can consider: the ‘general principles of law recognised by civilised nations’.  To use this source, one must assess both horizontal and vertical generality of any given legal rule or principle.  Horizontal generality requires a rule be found across a wide number of domestic legal systems; vertical generality requires the rule be suitable for abstraction from the domestic to the international legal plane.  This horizontal assessment of domestic legal systems has historically been mostly limited to traditional state based systems - and within this, most often to a small cluster of European nations.  This led Judge Ammoun to famously lament in 1969 the North Sea Continental Shelf case that the use of the source was a ‘Concert of Europe’: something that in truth has not changed that much in the subsequent 50 plus years.

However, the source shows potential far greater than its use so far, potential that was harnessed both by Judge Ammoun and later by Vice-President Weeramantry in the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project case.  It is important to note that the lack of recognition of diverse legal systems and diverse voices in international law is well known and well established. International law can be notoriously bad at giving voice to the marginalised: from the failure of the League of Nations to hear indigenous petitions to it to the failure of Australia, the US, New Zealand and Canada (each with substantive disparity between their own indigenous and non-indigenous populations) to vote in support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2007.

This has led to international law being referred to as ‘European’ international law: and although movements including the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) have challenged this, the Western domination of international law and its structures continues.

How then can General Principles change this?  Nowhere in the text of Article 38(1)(c) is the scope of the principle limited to the (traditional) domestic legal systems of States: rather all that is required is that the relevant principles are recognised by ‘civilized’ nations. 

While many argue that the ‘civilized’ is anachronistic, having no modern meaning, the history of the use of the source suggests this modifier may have actually influenced the restriction of legal systems examined to mostly (white) European ones.  To countermand such an approach, a broad reading of Article 38(1)(c) could take it encompass all domestic legal systems in a plural sense, recognising that beyond and beneath State law lies well established indigenous, traditional and/or customary legal systems.  To examine these legal systems for horizontal generality would allow us to truly say we are no longer restrained by exclusionary and weaponised concepts of ‘civilization’.  

Indeed, this is precisely what Vice-President Weeramantry did in his Separate Opinion in the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project when he argued that the source ‘expressly opened a door’ for the import of principles from ‘living law’ into international law.  In that case, Weeramantry looked to indigenous legal systems for support of a principle of sustainable development. Non-state legal systems as a basis for a General Principle were also considered by Judge Ammoun in North Sea Continental Shelf, Judge Weeramantry in Greenland and Jan Mayen, Judge Tarazi in the Tehran Hostages case, Judge El-Kosheri in the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie and Judge Al-Khasawneh in the Aerial Incident of 10 August 1999.

On these lines, when considering an argument to found the principle of inter-generational equity as a binding norm of international law, Article 38(1)(c) could be used to look not just at States who have this principle enshrined in their written domestic laws, but also at legal cultures, including indigenous, religious and customary, who have the principle enshrined in their laws.  As Edith Weiss writes, ‘the concept of intergenerational fairness in using and conserving the planet strikes deep chords in the major cultural and legal traditions of the world, including the Judeo-Christian, Islamic, African customary law, and Asian nontheistic traditions’.  Using Article 38(1)(c) in an expansive and truly global fashion would allow the ICJ and those making statements to it to draw on these traditions to help found a General Principle of inter-generational equity.

To do so could be of particular significance in this Advisory Opinion, spearheaded and led as it has been by Pacific Islands students, communities and States.  By examining Pacific customary law (as well as other indigenous and customary legal systems) as a basis for a General Principle on intergenerational equity, Pacific voices and Pacific law could be truly heard well by international law. 

Kiritimati Island

Implications for the global tuna fishing industry of climate change-driven alterations in productivity and body sizes

As I dive deeper into the impacts of climate change in fisheries in the region I call home and into the future of RMI fisheries a place that has been literally many 2nd home for a few years now, the more anguished I get.

I have been writing a bit about this and will continue to do so because, as the paper I present here clearly says: that “high trophic level species (like tuna) will be more impacted by climate change than by fishing pressure under the assumption that they remain nearby their MSY levels”.

So even if we keep looking and managing the stocks well as we do in the WCPO and run tight control over IUU fishing, all things we can and are doing…. The impact of Climate Change (something we didn't create) is having a more significant impact on our fisheries and future than what we actually do well… and that is DEEPLY upsetting.

The paper “Implications for the global tuna fishing industry of climate change-driven alterations in productivity and body sizes” is published by a group of heavyweights based in AZTI, the Basque research institute that is a reference in tuna fisheries.

I don't have access to the original, so I just quote the abstract below… but tackle the original if you have access (and send me a copy?).

Tunas and billfishes are the main large pelagic commercial fish species. Tunas comprised around 5.5 million t and USD 40 billion in 2018. Climate change studies and projections estimate that global fisheries productivity will decrease overall due to climate change. However, there are seldom projections of the climate-driven productivity of the higher trophic levels where tunas and billfishes belong. In this work, we use a mechanistic model to evaluate the effects of climate change and fishing for globally distributed and commercially exploited seven tuna species and swordfish which are divided into 30 stocks for management purposes, under a range of climate change (RCP 2.6 and 8.5) and fishing scenarios (from no fishing to 1.5 times the fishing mortality (F) at the Maximum Sustainable Yield, FMSY) from two Earth System Models (IPSL and MEDUSA). The results suggest that high trophic level species will be more impacted by climate change than by fishing pressure under the assumption that they remain nearby their MSY levels. However, no-fishing scenarios project much higher biomass. The overall productivity of the target species will decrease by 36% and only the Pacific bluefin showing a slight increase in the future. Five species; Atlantic and Southern bluefins, swordfish, bigeye, and albacore are estimated to decrease in biomass and size at different rates. These species represent almost a third of the landings in the Atlantic Ocean and 10% in the Pacific Ocean being the bluefins, the highest-valued tuna species. On average, the body size is expected to decrease up to 15% by 2050. Fish price and demand are partially driven by body size and therefore, revenues can be reduced even in stocks with an increase in productivity. The fishing industry can adapt to the changing climate by increasing the value of fish through sustainability certifications and reducing fuel consumption and time at sea with higher digitalisation. Reducing fuel consumption would also be an additional mitigation measure to climate change since it would reduce CO2 emissions.

I agree with the fuel issue consumption, but as expected to disagree on the ecolabelling issue… and here, I do agree with the FFA Trade and Industry news that suggests that as premiums associated with certified sustainable tuna have now eroded mainly due to a high-level of uptake by fishing companies (is there any tuna fishery not certified?), other options for increasing the value-proposition for tuna will likely need to be considered.

As you all know… I’m not a fan of private certifications… all the opposite…. and I think more and more people realise that there is no value in them other than squeezing money out of producers and giving more work to the regulators that need to get involved in commercial issues.

in any case… this all affects the future of people I work with everyday and are my friends.

Due Diligence Obligations on the State of Nationality to Combat IUU Fishing

As I sat last week on an update of where FFA is up to in terms of their “Persons of Interest - PoI” initiative (which I wrote about here a few years back), my mind was in 3 places:

Asian master in a Micronesian flagged vessel

1) Overall Due Diligence by DWFN
This, to a large extent, motivated me to write my last blog before this one: What About Flag State Performance? Yet I’m fully aware that operators from rich countries flag their vessels to poor countries for various reasons and drop the responsibilities of compliance on them, while they know these flagging countries are not always able or willing to do so.

2) Resourcing and cost recovery
This is all very nice and necessary, but POI is another thing to do… for the same amount of people in MIMRA earning the same salaries. This will have an operational impact and a cost which we are not clear about yet. I understand we need to get the legal basis to pursue PoI before pushing through, but it cannot just be a legal-led process. It also needs to be an operational-led process… which is something I’m repetitive about. 

Also, I think that an easy solution for these infringers/violators is to impose higher access fees to fish to those vessels/persons associated with IUU fishing records. Vessel days/licensing is more expensive because of alleged infringements and having them embedded into license conditions. The system purifies itself, and it would be something worth considering as an incentive for compliance…  I worry that if you bluntly deny them the right to fish based on what they could say are “mistakes”, they become martyrs … yet If you make it more expensive for them to fish, we justify it as cost recovery.

3) Roles of Nationals
What are the responsibilities of the state of nationality of this PoI… particularly now when the fag state primarily does not guarantee at all a tangible link between the vessel and operators based in the flag state… we have many vessels in the region flagged to Nauru, FSM, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji, Solomons, RMI, etc… where no nationals of the flag state are on board. This wasn't at all the case when I started fishing…

The role of “national” is present in all multilateral legislation and treaties from UNCLOS onwards all the way to PSMA and others… but I’ve never seen it described in detail about IUU until today!

To my luck, a recent paper by two young and brilliant acquaintances: Arron N. Honniball and Valentin J. Schatz goes deep into the role of nationals: “Nationals” at Forty: From an Undefined UNCLOS Term to Due Diligence Obligations on the State of Nationality to Combat IUU Fishing.

It is an excellent and informative paper that I can only recommend being read in its entirety. For now, I quote the conclusions.

Conclusions

“One reason why IUU fishing has been such a persistent problem is that many States have not been successful in controlling the fishing activities by their nationals.” (IUU International Plan of Action Implementation)  

This article has sought to demonstrate the extent to which international law recognizes the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the State of nationality when addressing IUU fishing. Practice at the global, regional, and unilateral level points towards an increasing recognition and depth of the State of nationality’s responsibilities, albeit in a much softer form than the more established responsibilities of flag, coastal, and port States. Since the 1990s, the international community has recognized the necessity of regulating nationals to combat IUU fishing. Global treaties do not impose explicit jurisdictional obligations on the State of nationality. Still, the broad wording of relevant provisions of UNCLOS (particularly Articles 58(3) and 117) can arguably be interpreted as a sufficient basis for (due diligence) obligations of States of nationality to take the necessary measures to prevent their nationals from engaging in or supporting IUU fishing.

A more concrete affirmation of these obligations in treaty or customary law has yet to occur, but soft law and obiter dicta of international courts and tribunals clearly demonstrate the winds are very much in favor of recognition and are only expected to harden further.

Moreover, regional fisheries management organizations have further strengthened and elaborated upon the regulatory expectations of parties and cooperating non-parties with respect to their nationals. This includes both prescription and enforcement jurisdiction, although regional fisheries management organization parties have to date been careful to use conditional language or implementation (e.g., “to the greatest extent possible”) or limiting investigation requirements to reported cases or allegations. Nonetheless, there is a clear trend towards further development of nationality-based measures.

The previously “small minority of countries” regulating their nationals involved in IUU fishing, regardless of flag, is a growing club. The practice of the EU is of particular importance, although a recent study commissioned by the European Commission showed “significant weaknesses” in the legislative frameworks and enforcement systems of EU member States. Specifically, the weaknesses are regarding their obligations and sanctioning of nationals for infringements of relevant EU law, as well as “(nearly) non-existent sanctioning of, on the one hand, nationals having engaged in IUU fishing activities outside EU waters, either operating or on board fishing vessels registered in third countries or vessels without nationality and, on the other, nationals supporting IUU fishing activities wherever their location.

The State of nationality therefore no longer presents a potential area for the evolution of international fisheries law, but rather an area where significant developments are already ongoing. Its active personality basis of prescriptive jurisdiction is not limited by the territory, maritime zone, or vessel where a national’s conduct occurs. It can thus not only address IUU fishing wherever it may occur but equally the natural and juridical persons, and not merely vessels, involved. This disincentivizes nationals engaging in or supporting IUU fishing, enables the punishment of non-compliance, and “sends a strong signal to other countries.” While enforcement may be limited by a lack of awareness of what a national is doing with respect to or aboard a foreign vessel, and unenforceable until the national returns to the State’s territory (except with respect to juridical persons, assets, licenses, and other issues not dependent on the presence of natural persons), these limitations are also seen in respect of other jurisdictional capacities. Cooperation may partially address these limitations, including greater information sharing or promoting the owners and operators of parties and cooperating non-parties flagged vessels within a State’s territory to enable effective enforcement.

Exercising due diligence in the regulation of nationals and the further development of the applicable threshold of due diligence arguably represents the next bastion in international fisheries law’s defences against IUU fishing.

Significant States of nationality should recognize these developments and proactively fortify their domestic legal systems through sufficient prescriptions and enforcement of provisions governing their nationals, domiciles, and, where applicable, residents.