Future of World's Largest Tuna Fishery Discussed in Australia this Week

Representatives from 43 nations are meeting in Carins, Australia this week to discuss the future of key tuna stocks and the regulations regarding commercial fishing done by nations eager to have sushi bars and supermarkets filled full of fish.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which regulates fishing in the vast expanse of ocean between Hawaii and Indonesia, is holding its annual meeting this week with the aim to promote conservation and management measures to ensure long-term sustainability of tuna fishing. However, discord between member nations could stall the effort to achieve sustainable fishing practices.

In 2012, there was an estimated 2.56 million metric tons of tuna harvested from the western and central Pacific Ocean. This amount represents more than half of the global tuna catch and nearly 85 percent of all tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean, according to data from the WCPFC.

Nearly three-quarters of the tuna caught in the western and central Pacific is skipjack tuna, which is the type most often found in cans on supermarket aisles. Yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tuna, which are in high demand by sushi chefs around the world, make up the rest of the tuna catch, but many more marine species, including turtles, sharks and rays, end up being harvested as bycatch of large-scale tuna fishing operations.

This year's WCPFC meeting is marked by a push by Pacific Island nations and environmental organizations to reduce the the amount of tuna-fishing done in the tropical waters, but many of the world's dominant fishing nations are resisting the call, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Long-line fishing nations, including the US, are reportedly pushing back on the conservation measures, citing restrictions set forth in 2008 as limit enough on their catches.

However, ABC noted, Japan, which is one of the world's largest tuna fishers and consumers, is backing the Pacific Islands' push for a new conservation plan in the vast area of sea that serves as the world's largest tuna fishery.

"I'm expecting a lot of effort over the next couple of days to bring a measure forward and I think we'll actually get there," Glenn Hurry, executive director of WCPFC, said in a radio interview with ABC.

The Pew Charitable Trusts, a US-based non-profit group with interests in ocean stewardship, reports that the tuna fishery in the western and central Pacific Ocean peaked in 2012 both in terms of catch and value.

In an email sent to reporters, Pew said that "if the WCPFC again fails to act and implement urgently needed management measures, fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna should be suspended until evidence-based initiatives and safeguards are put in place."

In the same email, Amanda Nickson, director of Pew's Global Tuna Conservation program, highlighted the need to reel in the tuna fishing industry itself.

"Member countries have a responsibility to end overfishing of bigeye tuna by 2018. In addition, urgent action is needed to rebuild the severely depleted Pacific bluefin population - now at just 3.6 percent of unfished levels," she said. "The WCPFC has a unique and important responsibility as custodian of the world's largest tuna fishery in an area covering 20 percent of the Earth's surface."