ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, the regional fisheries management body responsible for the conservation of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and adjacent seas, concluded negotiations at its 26th regular sesion by adopting a 15-year rebuilding plan for bigeye tuna. Although an imperfect plan in the eyes of many, it’s adoption was significant progress compared to the session last year, when the 52 contracting parties failed to agree on measures to protect the stock despite clear advice from the commission’s own scientists on the need to significantly reduce catches. The adopted plan reduces the total allowable catch forcing countries to make significant cuts to their current catches, a stricter limit on the number of fish aggregating devices (FAD) permitted per vessel, as well as an Atlantic-wide closure of FADs for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. FAD closure was previously restricted to the Gulf of Guinea for two months. Other business conducted during the 8-day meeting included amending the 50-year-old ICCAT convention to provide the commission with a mandate to manage sharks and rays, which will help in the fight against IUU fishing, and the adoption of a measure to implement rebuilding efforts for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin stocks.
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