 The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Understanding the IOTC Process IOTC Secretariat Mauritius, March 2014 Compliance Workshop: Collection and reporting of Fisheries data to IOTC Sponsored by BOBLME-IOC-SmartFish-IOTC

What is IOTC  IOTC is one of five tuna- Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO)  IOTC = Member countries  IOTC, a joint decision- making mechanism with actions taken at the individual country level

One of Five  CCSBT: Commission for the Conservation of Southern-Bluefin Tuna  IATTC: Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission  ICCAT: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas  IOTC: Indian Ocean Tuna Commission  WCPFC: Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission SOURCE:

The formation of IOTC  1968: A IO Tuna Committee is established as part of the Indian Ocean Fishery Commission (an FAO body):  Review stock status  Determine areas for future management  Recommend measures  1980: Indo-Pacific Tuna Programme (IPTP)  Technical support  Establishment of a database of tuna fisheries in the IO (since 1970)  Coordinated research (first tagging programmes)  Prepared the groundwork for an RFMO  : Intergovernmental consultation  France, Japan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Thailand  To prepare recommendations for a management arrangement  1993: The Agreement to establish IOTC is approved by the FAO Council (under Article XIV)  Membership open to UN Members: Taiwan Province of China cannot join

IOTC Member and Cooperating Parties  Australia  Belize  China  Comoros  Eritrea  European Union  France  Guinea  Iran, Isl. Rep.  India  Indonesia  Japan  Kenya  Korea, Rep.  Madagascar  Maldives  Malaysia  Mauritius  Mozambique  Oman  Pakistan  Philippines  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Sri Lanka SOURCE EEZ shape file:  Sudan  Tanzania  Thailand  United Kingdom  Vanuatu  Yemen Cooperating parties:  South Africa  Senegal At present 31 Members plus 2 Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties

The IOTC Secretariat  Secretariat established in Seychelles in 1998  Facilitates the exchange of information between Members  Compiles, reviews, safe-keep, and disseminate information, as agreed by IOTC CPCs  Facilitates the scientific process  Provides information on fisheries and catch trends  Coordination of research (e.g. Indian Ocean Tuna Tagging Programme)  Data analysis, in particular assessments of IOTC stocks and impact of IOTC fisheries on other marine fauna (bycatch) and the ecosystem at large  Meeting organization and support  Capacity building activities:  Science: IOTC-OFCF Project, COI-SmartFish, BOBLME, SWIOF  Compliance: COI-SmartFish, BOBLME, GEF-ABNJ

The Mandate Biological & Economic  Promote conservation and optimum utilization of tuna stocks (Article V.1 IOTC Agreement)  16 IOTC species of tuna and tuna-like  At present 16 stocks (??)  In the IOTC Area or any adjacent area IOTC stocks extend to  Highly migratory species

Highly Migratory: Tagging Yellowfin Tuna Bigeye Tuna Skipjack Tuna Yellowfin Tuna Bigeye Tuna Skipjack Tuna  Tuna movements: Tag recoveries of tunas that moved 1500 nautical miles or more from the point of release (considering movement in a straight line)  Top: Indian Ocean Regional Tuna Tagging Project (off TANZANIA & off OMAN)  Bottom: Small scale tagging in the MALDIVES

The Mandate Biological & Economic  Promote sustainable development of fisheries based on those stocks (Article V.1 IOTC Agreement)  Include all fisheries that catch IOTC-species (both directed at IOTC species or catching IOTC species as bycatch)  Assess effects of the fisheries on the ecosystem (e.g. incidental catches of other species such as sharks)  All coastal countries in the Indian Ocean plus some Distant-water fishing nations have fisheries for tunas Trolling Pole-and-line Longline Purse seine Gillnet Or any other catching IOTC species

MAINSPECIESMAINSPECIES GroupSpecies Tropical tunas Yellowfin tuna Bigeye tuna Skipjack tuna Temperate tunas Albacore Southern bluefin tuna (CCSBT) Bilfish Swordfish Black marlin Blue marlin Striped marlin Indo-Pacific sailfish Neritic tunasLongtail tuna Frigate tuna Bullet tuna Kawakawa SeerfishNarrow-barred Spanish mackerel Indo-Pacific king mackerel OTHERSPECIESOTHERSPECIES Species Sharks and rays Highly migratory species of sharks (e.g. blue, makos, oc. whitetip, silky, thresher, porbeagle) and rays (e.g. manta rays, pelagic stingrays) Marine turtles Green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, flatback Seabirds Several species of albatross, petrels and shearwaters Marine mammals Several species of toothed and baleen whales Other finfish Other tuna species and other non- targeted, associated and dependent species

The Process  The three-stage structure of the process  The first step in the IOTC process: How is the scientific advice generated?  Methods and models  Data used  Diagnostics and projections  Situation of the major IOTC stocks  The second step: the decision making process  How is the scientific advice used to generate conservation and management measures?  The third step: National implementation and compliance  What needs to be done at the national level after a decision is adopted?

The structure of IOTC Scientific Committee (advise on status) Scientific Committee (advise on status) Compliance Committee (advise on enforcement) Compliance Committee (advise on enforcement) Working Groups (scientific analysis) Tropical Tunas Billfish Temperate Tunas Ecosystems & Bycatch Data Collection and Stats Neritic tunas Working Groups (scientific analysis) Tropical Tunas Billfish Temperate Tunas Ecosystems & Bycatch Data Collection and Stats Neritic tunas IGOs and NGOs Requests for advice or for execution of specific tasks Provision of advice

Decision Making & IOTC Measures Article V.2.d IOTC Agreement:  “To adopt, in accordance with Article IX and on the basis of scientific evidence, conservation and management measures, to ensure the conservation of the stocks covered by this Agreement and to promote the objective of their optimum utilization throughout the Area.”  Includes the adoption of standards for the collection and reporting of the fisheries data that are used in the generation of scientific advice  Regular review by the Commission and Scientific Committee of those standards, including levels of compliance by IOTC CPCs

Status of IOTC stocks

Last assessments Stock Prev. Albacore 2007 Bigeye tuna 2008 Skipjack tuna No assessment Yellowfin tuna 2008 Swordfish 2007 Blue marlin No assessment Striped marlin No assessment Other billfish Data poor methods; results need validation Longtail tuna No assessment Other neritic tunas Data poor; no assessment Sharks Very poor data; no assessment Colour key Stock OVERFISHED (SB year /SB MSY < 1) Stock NOT OVERFISHED (SB year /SB MSY ≥ 1) Stock subject to OVERFISHING (F year /F MSY > 1) Stock NOT subject to OVERFISHING (F year /F MSY ≤ 1) Stock not assessed/ Uncertain The status of half IOTC stocks and all sharks is poorly known due to the paucity of data available

How far does the IOTC data let us go Basic indicators (Catch trends, SRA, CPUE, mean size, etc.) Biomass dynamic models (Production models); delay- difference models ASPIC Age-structured production models (ASPM) Integrated models; catch-at-age or catch- at-size models (e.g. SS2) Spatially disaggregated, integrated models (SS3, MULTIFAN- CL) Tagging data essential! Increasing complexity means better approximation but more data are required! Sharks Blue shark Oceanic whitetip Thresher sharks Mako sharks Porbeagle Hammerhead sharks Silky shark Other Neritic tunas Longtail tuna Kawakawa Frigate tuna Bullet tuna NB Spanish mackerel IP king mackerel Sailfish and marlins IP Sailfish Black marlin Blue marlin Striped marlin Swordfish and albacore Albacore Swordfish Tropical tunas Yellowfin tuna Bigeye tuna Skipjack tuna [S. bluefin tuna]

The IOTC is as good as how its members participate (IN FULL) in these processes. Thanking you for your attention