Source: Undercurrent News
VIGO, Spain — Tuna industry regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) should take a zero-tolerance approach to countries unwilling to share catch and vessel data, said a top Spanish fisheries chief at the XI World Tuna Conference.
“We need 100% observer coverage across all vessels and to re-enforce and strengthen transshipment controls. We need to look at the scientific advice level in a fishery,” said Borja Soroa, general manager of Pesqueria Vasco Montanesa (Pevasa) at the Vigo, Spain conference. “If a country does not provide the data [to allow this], they should not get access to fisheries. No data, no fish. I’d like to ask the RFMOs to study this.”
Soroa also re-issued his call for quotas tied to vessels, a point he made at the 2017 World Tuna Conference.
The introduction of vessel-linked quotas, which would then mean newbuilds would only be permitted if they replaced an existing seiner, should be linked with a global registry, he said.