New research will help the management of Atlantic bluefin and especially determine the mixing rate of the eastern and western species so that stock assessments can be improved. The National...
Fishing
Nirsa Sets New Record For Its Fleet’s Tuna Catches
The growth in captures made by vessels owned by Nirsa, Ecuador’s leading tuna processing and exporting company, continued during 2020. The increase supplied the vast majority of the firm’s...
IO Yellowfin At Its Smallest In The last 70 Years
The average size of yellowfin caught in the Indian Ocean (IO) hit its lowest level in 70 years in 2020. Meanwhile, a new record was set for the most specimens taken out of the ocean. This is...
Should All Fishing Vessels Be Registered In The RFMOs?
RFMOs heavily rely on data submitted by their member states. However, countries are not obligated to submit certain information. For example, in the WCPFC convention area, vessels that are...
Hawaii Longline Association Wants MSC In WCPFC And IATTC
The Hawaiian longline tuna fishery has started the assessment for MSC certification. The process, which will be overseen by Control Union (UK) Limited, involves 141 vessels fishing yellowfin...
French Polynesian Govt Seizes Chinese Tuna Longliner As Collateral
French Polynesian authorities have seized a tuna longliner belonging to a Chinese fishing company to ensure that the latter will remove a vessel from its fleet which had run aground on an...
Low Trading Activity Keeps IO Skipjack Price Under Pressure
The majority of the Indian Ocean (IO) purse seine fleets have caught their yellowfin quota. Therefore, most vessels have had to stop fishing for skipjack on FAD sets and will return to port at...
Data Quality Of IOTC Small-Scale Fisheries A Major Worry
For RFMOs to be able to carry out their management tasks they heavily rely on information submitted by their member states. Hence, high data quality and accuracy are essential. In the IOTC...
Artistic Tuna Statues Decorate Spanish City
Even though an exhibition of unique tuna statues created by Spanish artists ended in August, these sculptures have now been moved to the center of the port city of Huelva located in Andalucia....
Tuna Fisher Helps Rescue Passengers On Stranded Boat
The captain of a tuna sportfishing vessel in the US aided the Coast Guard in the rescue of 25 people aboard a stranded boat last Friday. Around 1 am, Markus Medak, a local San Diego captain,...
Vessel Data Gap An Issue For Overall Tuna Management
Tuna RFMOs are big on data as they have to keep a close eye on stocks in the different oceans. This entails knowing issues such as catch volumes, transshipments, and the number of vessels...
Bluefin Swimming In New York & More Social Media Trends
The Atuna team always loves to find news about tuna on social media, since this fish is a beloved subject for many to post about. We have selected this month's most interesting reads for you....
2020 IO Yellowfin Catches Down But No Thanks To Handliners
Landings of yellowfin and skipjack in the Indian Ocean (IO) recorded a lower year-on-year level in 2020. And while the yellowfin catches by all gears still represented the third-highest volume...
Not Overfished: Good News For Recovery Of Southern Bluefin
The management of the Southern bluefin stock is paying off as it has been classified as not overfished in the recent ABARES Fishery status report 2021. The research division of the Department...
Pressure Makes IATTC Fleets Agree On FAD Cuts & Bigeye Quotas
All eyes were on the latest IATTC annual meeting which ended last Friday. Pressure had been building up for the RFMO members to agree on conservation measures for tropical tuna for the next...
Oman Doubles Its Yellowfin Handline Catch
The Oman Ministry of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries, and Water Resources has published that the yellowfin catches amounted to 68,000 M/T in 2020. According to recently published IOTC catch...
Coastal States Push For Special Session On DFADs Reduction
Coastal states and distant water seiner fleets are at the moment two different warring camps at the moment concerning the reduction of drifting FADs (dFADs) in the Indian Ocean (IO). More...
Chef & Restaurant Owners Ask US Congress To Crack Down On IUU
More than 200 chefs and restaurant owners in the US have sent a letter to Congress asking for authorities to crack down on IUU fishing and forced labor abuses. They argue that they serve...
Kenyan Fishers Deny Being Abused On Chinese Vessels
A dozen Kenyan fishers have contradicted some of their colleagues’ comments regarding being mistreated aboard Chinese-flagged vessels which had left Mombasa to fish in the Indian Ocean in...
Poor EPO Landings Steer Manta Skipjack Price Up
The first closure in the EPO ended at the beginning of October, which means that most seiners are now back at sea. Despite this, poor fishing continues to dominate which is driving the price...