Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission to consider seabird mitigation measures later this month

The 89th Meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) will be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 29 June to 3 July 2015.

According to Document IATTC 89-04d Recommendations by the Staff for Conservation Measures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, 2015 the “Commission should revise Resolution C-11-02 consistent with the current state of knowledge regarding seabird mitigation techniques, as described in document SAC-05 INF-E5  (prepared by ACAP and BirdLife International).  The two-column menu approach in C-11-02 should be replaced by a requirement to use at least two of the following three mitigation methods in combination: line weighting, night setting and bird-scaring lines.

Other mitigation methods should not be endorsed until their effectiveness is proven.  The three recommended mitigation measures should, at the very least, specify the minimum standards in Appendix I.  The Commission should take note of the updated seabird density information and consider expanding the area of application of measures to include additional waters in the North Pacific.”

A Laysan Albatross pair, photograph by James Lloyd

Click here to read more on the proposal submitted by the United States to the 89th IATTC Commission Meeting to revise Resolution C-11-02.

The meeting will be attended by Marco Favero, Chair, ACAP Advisory Committee.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 June 2015