[ABNJ Tuna and Biodiversity] Mainstreaming the Management and Conservation of Sharks and Bycatch in Pacific High Seas Tuna Fisheries [Experience Note]
The world's tuna fleet, comprising thousands of vessels from over 85 countries landing catches valued at >10 billion USD annually, is a critical global food source. But these fisheries are a major cause of mortality for some populations of seabirds, sea turtles, marine mammals and sharks and can pose a major threat to biodiversity conservation. This project was designed to address bycatch issues by identifying and implementing better assessment, management and mitigation practices for sharks and sea turtles in the Pacific. Challenges addressed included lack of information as a pretext for inaction, jurisdictional issues preventing a comprehensive approach, data access restrictions, and analytical obstacles arising from data quantity and quality shortfalls. Replication within other large international resource management organizations should be possible with creative adaptation of approaches to suit new and different conditions. This experience demonstrates some successes for regional cooperation in developing building blocks for transboundary wildlife management (Published in March 2019).
[ABNJ Tuna and Biodiversity] Mainstreaming the Management and Conservation of Sharks and Bycatch in Pacific High Seas Tuna Fisheries [Experience Note].pdf
