June 2014

Fishing & Living participated, together with 27 other Marine Stewardship Council client groups and participants of FIPs to the first Meeting on aligning MSC Principle 1 Activities of Bigeye, Yellowfin and Albacore Fishery Improvement Projects in the WCPFC Convention Area (Bangkok, May 21st 2014).

The target of this first meeting was to “initiate discussions between relevant MSC client groups and participants of FIPs to coordinate and align policy activities related to sub-regional and regional management of fisheries for albacore, bigeye and yellowfin tunas in the Convention Area of the WCPFC.”

Points discussed in the meeting were:

1) Overlap of activities across FIP action plans for MSC P1 performance indicators

2) The draft Tokelau Arrangement for the Management of the South Pacific Longline Fishery

3) FFA, PNA and WCPFC management systems and status of the 4 tuna stocks under the scope of the group

4) Guidance on FIPs and the CASS guidelines

5) Chinese subsidies to Longline Fleet in WPCO

6) Electronic Monitoring Systems (i.e. electronic observers)

7) WCPFC delegations preventing the adoption of measures to address MSC principle 1

8) Letter for co-signature by the leads of relevant fisheries in the MSC program and FIPs to be sent to the WPCFC Secretariat requesting that management options for South Pacific Albacore.

The meeting resulted in the formation of the “WCPO Tuna MSC Principle 1 Alignment Group” whose role was summarized as ” to disseminate information and coordinate and align policy activities of relevant MSC client groups and participants of FIPs related to sub-regional and regional management of fisheries for albacore, bigeye and yellowfin tunas in the Convention Area of the WCPFC”. More information on the WCPO Tuna MSC Principle Alignment Group website.