Slow steps towards management of the world's largest tuna fishery

Today, the tuna fishery of the western and central Pacific is one of the world's largest fisheries. Annual catches exceed 2 million mt—approximately 50% of the global tuna catch—with an estimated landed value of USD 3 billion (in 2005). The fishery expanded rapidly from the mid 1980s, following the development of the purse-seine fishery. From the mid 1990s, it was recognised that a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation was required to facilitate cooperation in the management of the resource. Following almost a decade of negotiations and planning, the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPFC) was established in 2004. During the interim period, stock assessments for the key tuna species were developed and revealed that for two species (yellowfin and bigeye tuna) there was concern regarding the increased levels of fishing mortality. However, declarations and resolutions calling for restraint in the expansion of fishing effort were largely unheeded over the last decade and, to date, the WCPFC has been unable to introduce any measures to effectively reduce (or limit) the level of fishing mortality on yellowfin and bigeye tuna. This paper proposes a number of mechanisms for improving the performance of the WCPFC with respect to meeting the conservation and management objectives of the commission and argues that Pacific Island nations need to collectively take the lead to ensure the effective management of the resource.