By Liam Campling, Elizabeth Havice and Mike McCoy1 

CONTENTS

Fisheries Trade

China’s fisheries subsidies reform reduces transparency and focuses on distant waters

Fisheries Management

Commission prepares for adoption of a new tropical tunas measure at WCPFC18

IATTC adopts a new tropical tunas measure after August Annual Meeting failure

IUCN removes tuna species from endangered list

Fisheries Regulation 

Deadline approaches for foreign fisheries under US Marine Mammal Protection Act

EU and Vietnam discuss the status of Vietnam’s IUU yellow card and timeline for inspection 

Tuna Industry

New Marshall Islands joint venture becomes a sustainable tuna supplier to Walmart

PNG Fishing Industry Association is the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability’s newest affiliate 

Princes switches yellowfin tuna supply away from Western Indian Ocean

FISHERIES TRADE

China’s fisheries subsidies reform reduces transparency and focusses on distant waters

As the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is in the last leg of negotiations before the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) from 30 November - 3 December 2021, a new report funded by environmental NGO, Oceana, finds that China is transforming its system of fisheries subsidies provision.[2] 

The report’s authors – Tabitha Grace Mallory, Chen Hao, and Leng Danyan – found a mixed bag, with some improvements and some worsening of problems, of particular importance to PICs.[3] On one hand, China has reduced fuel subsidies to fishing vessels by 40% between 2014 and 2019. The drop is registered predominantly in the domestic fishing sector, with some significant reductions also made in distant water fishing (DWF) fleet fuel subsidies. This is an important development because it indicates the effective implementation of a 2015 policy by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Ministry of Finance to reduce fuel subsidies. 

On the other hand, there are new transparency concerns, including changes to national reporting which means that data on fuel is no longer itemised and instead aggregated alongside vessel construction. As a result, notifications to the WTO under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures is more opaque than normal. To be fair, many WTO members continue to fail to provide meaningful WTO notifications on fisheries subsidies. However, given China’s dominant position with around 15% volume share of global marine capture, this opacity is all the more problematic, and indeed, is one of the major targets for reform in the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, if reached at MC12.

Further, and of greatest concern to PICs, China’s DWF industry now receives 49% of total ‘harmful’ subsidies (i.e. fuel, vessel construction etc.), despite only accounting for 22% of China’s total catch. This is not unusual, with most DWFNs providing a disproportionate share of subsidies to their DWFs, as shown in a recent study by Daniel Skerritt and Rashid Sumaila – also commissioned by Oceana.[4] 

The economic boost to China’s DWF is especially significant to high seas vessels, which benefit from CNY 6.9 billion of a total CNY 11.9 billion in ‘harmful’ DWF subsidies, with the remainder to vessels operating in foreign EEZs. It is data like these that make an effective outcome at the WTO all the more important as countries like China will always be able to out-subsidise small island developing states.

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Commission prepares for adoption of a new tropical tunas measure at WCPFC18

Throughout 2021, WCPFC Members, Cooperating Non-Members and Participating Territories (CCMs) have been channelling their attention to the negotiation of a new tropical tunas measure to replace CMM 2018-01. This will be the most significant item on the agenda for the upcoming 18Th Annual Session which will be held virtually from 29 November - 7 December (WCPFC18). 

From 6 - 10 September, a second virtual tropical tunas measure workshop was held to progress discussions (the first workshop was held in April 2021 and was reported on previously in FFA Trade & Industry News).[5] This second workshop focused on management objectives (i.e. the overall objectives for each species that the tropical tunas measure aims to achieve), management options (i.e. management measures for purse seine, longline and other commercial fisheries) and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) measures and reporting requirements for the new measure. At the conclusion of the workshop, a Chair’s report was circulated, together with a recap document summarizing agreed points, differing views for further consideration and suggested ways forward.[6] 

During the second workshop, FFA members reiterated their general position that the current measure is working well, as evidenced by the healthy status of all three tropical tuna stocks, so there is no need for substantial changes to be made in the new measure.  On management objectives and management options, there was general agreement amongst members that the new measure should continue to apply a ‘package approach’ which strikes a careful balance between the four core elements of the conservation measure: the three-month FAD closure in EEZs and the high seas; the additional two-month high seas FAD closure; high seas purse seine effort limits and longline bigeye catch limits. On purse seine management options, members agreed that zone-based purse seine effort controls should be retained and hard effort/catch limits set for the high seas, with further consideration required on flag-based high seas fishing allocations. There was also general support for the retention of existing purse seine FAD management measures including the 3-month in-zone FAD closure, limits on the number of instruments buoys per vessels and the use of non-entangling FAD designs. Further consideration was required concerning FAD closure exemptions (Footnote 1), the additional two-month high seas FAD closure, the definition of a drifting FAD and timely transmission of observer reports for investigations. On longline management options, there was general agreement that longline bigeye catch limits should be retained in the new measure, but these limits should not confer the allocation of rights to any member or prejudice future Commission decision. Further consideration needs to be given to the potential adjustment of longline bigeye catch limits, catch allocation mechanisms (i.e. zone-based vs. flag-based vs. hybrid) and catch reporting frequency; it was generally agreed that any increases in bigeye longline catches would need to be linked to strengthened reporting and monitoring requirements. It was agreed that provisions on chartering, capacity management and purse seine catch retention should be retained. On MCS and reporting requirements, it was agreed that 100% purse seine observer coverage should also be retained. For the longline fishery, further consideration needed to be given to the inclusion of a longline observer coverage provision and strengthened longline fishery MCS measures (e.g. electronic reporting, electronic monitoring, increased observer coverage, high seas entry/exit reporting, introduction of a bigeye catch documentation scheme and revised transshipment measures).[7] 

Taking into consideration outcomes from the first and second workshops and a subsequent proposal from FFA, the Chair prepared a consultative draft tropical tunas measure that was circulated to CCMs on 1 October. CCMs were given three weeks to provide comments, after which the Chair prepared a revised consultative draft that was circulated on 1 November to serve as the basis for negotiations at WCPFC18.  The Chair’s consultative draft applies ‘traffic light’ colour coding to each paragraph of the existing CMM text (CMM 2018-01), with green indicating ‘agreed text’ or previous text which is ‘generally agreed’; orange is ‘yet to be considered’ and red is ‘further discussion required’. The views of individual CCMS are reflected in a separate column. The Chair’s coding system indicates that CCMs still have divergent views on a considerable number of key issues. In the cover letter to her revised consultative draft, the Chair highlights that there is a lot more work to be done before a new tropical tunas measure can be adopted. She draws attention to the highest priority issues in her view –management objectives for each species, as well as the balance between the four core elements of the management options ‘package’ mentioned above. The Chair then appeals to CCMs to consider which other issues are of the utmost priority.[8] It remains to be seen if CCMs can reach a compromise on hardline divergent positions to adopt a new tropical tunas measure at WCPFC16, which will only be made more challenging given the virtual meeting format and shortened meeting time. 

IATTC adopts a new tropical tunas measure after August Annual Meeting failure[9]

Following failure to reach consensus at its 82nd Annual Meeting from 23-27 August 2021, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) adopted a new Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) tropical tunas measure three months later in a resumed virtual Annual Meeting session held from 18-22 October. There have been repeated calls, particularly from the NGO community, for IATTC to adopt a strengthened tropical tunas measure as the previous measure was deemed ineffective in limiting catches of yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack to sustainable levels. Stock assessments conducted in 2020 indicated that while yellowfin remains healthy, there was a 54 per cent probability of bigeye being overfished and a 50 per cent probability that overfishing was occurring.[10] 

The new measure (Resolution C-21-04) will come into effect on 1 January 2022 for three years (2022-2024). One of the most commendable enhancements is the implementation of additional fishery closure days for purse seine vessels that exceed a certain bigeye tuna annual catch threshold. For example, in addition to the existing 72-day full fishing closure for purse seine vessels (‘veda’), vessels that catch more than 1,200mt of bigeye are subject to an additional 8-10 days fishing closure in 2022-2024. Vessels that exceed an annual catch limit of 2,400 mt will be subject to an additional 22 days closure. The one month time/area purse seine fishing closure in the ‘corralito’ area remains in place from 9 October – 8 November. 

Notably, IATTC also agreed to strengthened FAD measures with the adoption of a progressive reduction in the limit on active FADs annually from 2022-2024 for all purse seine vessel size classes. Large-scale (Class 6) purse seiners with a well capacity of 1,200m3 or greater will reduce from the current 450 active FADs permitted in 2021 to 340 in 2024 (around 25% reduction); Class 6 purse seiners less than 1,200m3 will reduce from 300 to 210 active FADs by 2024 (30% reduction). IATTC members will also be required to submit operational FAD buoy data to the Commission for scientific analysis purposes. While there was no progress made on binding measures for FAD marking, IATTC’s Ad hoc Working Group on FADs was tasked with recommending a definition and criteria for biodegradable FADs or FADs with designs and materials that pose less risk to the environment.  The new measure also provides more comprehensive clarification on FAD activation and deactivation definitions and procedures. 

The new measure rolls over existing flag-based bigeye catch limits for the longline fishery, with a total allowable catch of 55,131mt. It also makes explicit mention of IATTC’s commitment to the development of harvest strategies for tropical tunas, commencing with bigeye tuna.  IATTC’s scientific staff will present a candidate harvest strategy for bigeye tuna in 2024 for consideration by the Commission. 

Like all RFMOs, progress at IATTC has been hindered somewhat by the virtual meeting format. It is commendable that IATTC members were able to navigate this challenge and work inter-sessionally between August-October to address divergent positions and arrive at a consensus on a strengthened tropical tunas measure that should go some way towards improving stock status, particularly for bigeye tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. 

IUCN removes tuna species from endangered list

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a listing of the global status of over 130,000 species of flora and fauna. In marine fisheries, IUCN listings often feed into sustainability guides for consumers and buyers and are thus of commercial importance, and inclusion on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a serious impediment to trade.

There are some important shifts in tuna species’ listings, including: [11]

* Atlantic bluefin tuna moving from being listed as ‘Endangered’ to a status of ‘Least Concern’;

* Yellowfin tuna and albacore tuna are now categorised under ‘Least Concern’ when previously considered ‘Near Threatened’;

* Southern bluefin tuna remains ‘Endangered’ but has improved from ‘Critically Endangered’; and

* Bigeye tuna remains at a status of ‘Vulnerable’, and Skipjack tuna remains ‘Least Concern’. 

There are problems with the way in which this type of global snapshot is often reported in the media because it fails to capture regional variation. For example, as the IUCN itself makes clear, yellowfin ‘continues to be overfished in the Indian Ocean’.[12] 

Despite that the turnarounds in tuna species stock health are touted as examples of improved management, bycatch species continue to be under serious threat. For example, 37% of all sharks and rays are now at risk of extinction due to overfishing, which is compounded by loss and degradation of habitat and climate change.[13]

The announcements were made at the IUCN World Conservation Congress which ran from 3 - 11 September 2021 in Marseille.[14] It is held once every four years, bringing together thousands of leaders and decision-makers from governments, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia. 

FISHERIES REGULATION

Deadline approaches for foreign fisheries under US Marine Mammal Protection Act

As reported previously in FFA Trade & Industry News, on 1 January 2017 a final rule went into effect under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) which extended the reach of US legislation beyond US waters to foreign commercial fishing operations exporting to the US. This rule was adopted to provide a level playing field for US fishers who are subject to rigorous US marine mammal legislation, as well as to assist foreign fisheries to support healthy and diverse marine ecosystems.[15]  

To comply, exporting nations must implement a regulatory program which is comparable in effectiveness to the US’ program in prohibiting the intentional killing or serious injury of marine mammals, as well as monitoring and reducing marine mammal by-catch levels. When the rule came into effect, a five-year exemption (grace) period was given to enable foreign nations to develop their marine mammal regulatory programs to comply with US requirements. In November 2020, this exemption was extended by one year to account for delays encountered by foreign nations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the current interim rule, foreign nations (and intermediary nations that process for re-export to the US) must have applied for and received a ‘comparability finding’ from NOAA by latest 31 December 2022 to be able to export fish and fisheries products to the US after 1 January 2023.[16] 

In order to receive a comparability finding, foreign fisheries must first be included in NOAA’s Final List of Foreign Fisheries (LOFF) and been given either an ‘exempt’ or ‘export’ fishery classification. A fishery is deemed exempt if it has a remote likelihood of, or no known incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals. Export fisheries are those with more than a remote likelihood of marine mammal bycatch or insufficient information available on marine mammal interaction. In October 2020, NOAA published its Final 2020 List of Foreign Fisheries, with 1,852 fisheries given ‘export’ and 953 fisheries given ‘exempt’ classifications.[17] 

Importantly, the deadline for foreign nations to submit documentary evidence to NOAA of meeting the US’ MMPA requirements in order to receive a comparability finding is 30 November 2021.  Apparently, the response rates of foreign nations, including some Pacific Island countries, during 2020-2021 have slowed, with some nations yet to provide a response at all. This may in part be due to a misunderstanding that ‘exempt’ fisheries are not required to receive a ‘comparability finding’.[18] However, according to US MMPA Import Provisions, NOAA must conduct comparability findings for all exempt and export fisheries on the LOFF. Exempt fisheries require nations to demonstrate to NOAA that they prohibit the intentional mortality or serious injury of marine mammals by commercial fishing operations. For export fisheries, NOAA need to undertake a detailed evaluation of the regulatory program to determine if it is comparable in effectiveness with the US regulatory program. 

The US market is significant for WCPO longline fisheries which typically supply albacore for canning and bigeye and yellowfin for sashimi and value-added products to US markets. WCPO purse-seine caught skipjack is also processed into loins and canned tuna for the US market. To avoid uninterrupted US market access from 1 January 2023, FFA members with domestic fishing fleets are encouraged to engage with NOAA and ensure the necessary information is provided to receive a comparability finding. 

EU and Vietnam discuss the status of Vietnam’s IUU yellow card and timeline for inspection 

The European Commission (EC) first issued Vietnam an IUU yellow card in October 2017. Since that time, the EC has been conducting a review of the Vietnam’s fisheries-related policies. The outcome of the review will determine if the EC will: maintain the yellow card, issue a red card that would ban all seafood imports from Vietnam, or rescind the yellow card to resume normal trade relations. In the past, the EC inspectors have praised Vietnam’s anti-IUU efforts, though officials in the Vietnam Government have acknowledged being unable to fully halt illegal fishing activities, particularly in distant water fishing operations.[19] The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the EC from sending inspectors to Vietnam, and instead, the two parties have held regular virtual meetings to review Vietnam’s progress.[20]

Underscoring the urgency of compliance for the Vietnamese economy, a World Bank study highlights that links to the EU market helped pave the way for Vietnamese seafood to enter the world market: Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU increased from USD 90 million in 1999 to USD 5 billion in 2017. The report estimates that a red card would cost the Vietnamese economy USD 480 million/year if EU market access is lost, of which USD 378 million/year would be attributable to capture fisheries. The aquaculture sector would lose USD 93 million/year from direct impacts. If a ban were to last 2-3 years, the disruption to the seafood sector would result in a decline of at least 30 per cent in earnings for capture fisheries.[21] 

Recently, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered government ministries to end IUU fishing by the end of the year. In a virtual meeting between the two parties in late October, EC representatives said Vietnam has made progress implementing recommendations and upgrading fleet management and tracking regulations. The EC pointed to continued challenges in provincial governance, management of vessels moving through ports, and lack of accountability when vessels illegally fish in foreign waters. The Department of Fisheries has asked officials from 28 coastal localities to outline plans for meeting EC requirements. For its part, the EC is planning to send inspectors to Vietnam in the first quarter of 2022 to review progress, after which it will issue a summary of findings and recommendations for improvement.[22]

TUNA INDUSTRY

New Marshall Islands joint venture becomes a sustainable tuna supplier to Walmart

A commercial joint venture enterprise, Pacific Island Tuna, launched this year by the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has secured a deal with Walmart to supply Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified canned skipjack tuna for a portion of Walmart’s private label brand, Great Value, sold in stores across the U.S. According to a published news report, neither Walmart nor Pacific Island Tuna would disclose what percentage or how much tuna the company would be supplying to the retailer, but Mikel Hancock, Walmart’s Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, confirmed it would be “a significant portion”. [23] Walmart’s action coincides with its corporate goal of sourcing MSC-certified sustainable tuna for 100 per cent of its private label brand by 2025. As part of its strategy, Walmart will require all its canned light and white meat tuna suppliers to source from fisheries that are third-party certified as sustainable.[24]

Pacific Island Tuna was conceived after extensive research and collaboration by MIMRA and TNC. The business model, developed in collaboration with Bain & Company of Boston, USA, includes strict sourcing standards that match social and environmental sustainability commitments with clear, high-level verification standards.[25] The impetus for the project began several years ago when TNC sponsored a study tour of representatives from Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) countries to visit and study the successes of several Native Alaskan corporations that had invested in, and taken more economic control of, their fisheries through direct involvement in the supply chain. 

Pacific Island Tuna describes its mission as revolutionizing the tuna fishing industry through new, higher environmental and social sustainability and verification standards to catalyze market and supply chain transformation. The firm is headed by several tuna industry veterans, including Cary Gann, the former Director of Seafood Procurement and Sustainability for StarKist, and Majuro-based Gene Muller, who has over 20 years of experience in the tuna industry including roles as the fleet operations manager for a Marshall Islands-based fishing company and as the general manager of a loin processing plant.[26] 

Muller has been quoted in several publications as noting that, “Pacific Island Tuna is showing the world that sustainability and profitability are not at odds, even in an industry that has been challenged by both. Through close collaboration between resource owners and retailers, we can shape a different, more resilient future for the tuna industry, and the communities that rely on it. We are confident that this model will be adopted across the industry, benefitting both people and the planet.”[27]

PNG Fishing Industry Association is the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability’s newest affiliate

As traceability has become an imperative throughout seafood supply chains, organizations have emerged to provide platforms for seafood traceability practices. One rapidly growing organization in this area in the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), which following pre-competitive dialogues among industry stakeholders, has created a global framework for traceability based on four pillars:[28]

* Internationally agreed Key Data Elements (KDEs);

* Technical specifications for inter-operable traceability systems, coupled with legal and business formats for facilitating business-to-business information exchange;

* Internationally agreed benchmarks for verifying data validity; and

* Harmonization of business-smart national regulations to reduce compliance burdens.

In February 2021, GDST released its 1.0 standards that provide a tool to address consumer and regulatory demands for information about the origins of seafood products; assurances that seafood is not sourced from illegal, unsustainable or socially irresponsible practices (including labour conditions at sea); and increasing business interest in improving transparency within seafood supply chains. While GDST provides the standards for implementing traceability procedures, it does not have a mechanism to independently verify the validity of claims made about GDST 1.0 implementation or compliance. The organization indicates that systems to validate claims may be developed as more companies implement GDST 1.0. Since being launched in 2017, GDST has been convened and facilitated by international NGOs WWF and The Institute for Food Technologists. It aims to continue to grow into an independent industry-based organization that will own, maintain, and promote its standards for years to come.[29]

More than 60 companies have stated their intent to implement these standards over time, including several key figures in the tuna industry: Thai Union, Bumble Bee, International Pole and Line Foundation, Pacifical, FCF and Bolton Food.[30] 

Most recently, industry in Papua New Guinea have taken interest in utilizing the GDST standard, with processing firms South Seas Tuna, Majestic Seafood, IFC, Frabelle, RD Tuna and Nambawan Seafoods all signing on. The Fishing Industry Association of Papua New Guinea (FIA PNG) has also announced that it has adopted the GDST traceability standards. However, this kind of reporting is not new to FIA PNG which, since 2011, has been using the Fisheries Information Management System (iFIMS) platform, which was initially developed by Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority.[31] iFIMS – which is reported to be the first information platform that integrates fisheries management, compliance and marketing, and for the fishing end of the chain – draws on catch reporting, vessel position and activity data (generated by the VMS), and observer reporting. The industry database enables companies to see their own boats and catch information and applying licenses.[32] FIA PNG reports that iFIMS included nearly all of the minimum KDEs required in GDST, positioning members to be able to reaffirm “their commitment to ensuring that the legal origin of their seafood products is guaranteed and to further eliminate IUU fishing in the Central and Western Pacific convention area”.[33]

Princes switches yellowfin tuna supply away from Western Indian Ocean

Yellowfin tuna populations in the Indian Ocean have been the subject of ongoing controversy, with scientists making clear that stock rebuilding is needed, but Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) members agreeing to watered down conservation measures, as reported in a recent issue of FFA Trade and Industry News.[34] 

Subsequently, five IOTC members reportedly objected to the plan “forcing the sustainability of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna back into the danger zone, and compromising the efforts made by the majority of nations willing to follow scientific advice”, and they will “not have to implement the conservation measure, and will instead be bound by their previous catch limits”.[35]

In this context, private operators are weighing the risks of procuring Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna against tarnishing their corporate image. Princes Group announced in October that it has reached its ambitious goal of reducing Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna sourcing by 50% on 2017 levels, a year ahead of its 2022 deadline. 

Commenting on the IOTC process, Princes’ Group Director for Fish, Neil Bohannon, noted that the “rebuilding plan is a good first step, but the future sustainability of yellowfin tuna will remain at risk if a more robust rebuilding plan is not adopted.”[36] Owed by Mitsubishi, Princes is a leading seafood brand in the UK and the Netherlands and has two factories in Mauritius.

Given the healthy status of WCPO’s yellowfin stock, highly conflictual fisheries management in the Indian Ocean may offer opportunities for PICs. As long as PICs can maintain solidarity at the WCPFC and continue to steer membership to ongoing sustainability, premium markets can be found for Pacific tuna as evidenced in the recent Walmart-Marshall Islands partnership in the context of Walmart’s success to shifting to 100% MSC certified tuna for its private label brand (see above).

1 Prepared for the FFA Fisheries Development Division by Professor Liam Campling, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, Dr Elizabeth Havice, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Mike McCoy, independent consultant, all Consultant Fisheries Trade and Market Intelligence Analysts, Fisheries Development Division, FFA. Desktop publishing by Antony Price. The authors would like to thank FFA for their input on an earlier draft of this briefing. The contents of this briefing (including all analysis and opinions) are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or thinking of the FFA Secretariat or its Members.

2 Oceana 2021, “China’s Fisheries Subsidies Propel Distant-Water Fleet: New study finds domestic fuel subsidies down, but government reporting less transparent’. Research summary, October. Available at:  https://oceana.org/reports/chinas-fisheries-subsidies-propel-distant-wat...

3 The authors helpfully provide supplemental data detailing the evidence bases for their findings, China’s Financing and Subsidization of Capture Fisheries, October 2021. China Ocean Institute: https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/994812/ChinaSubsidies_Sup...

4 Daniel J. Skerritt and U. Rashid Sumaila 2021, Assessing the spatial burden of harmful fisheries subsidies (February). Oceana: https://oceana.org/reports/tracking-harmful-fisheries-subsidies/ 

5 See Campling, Havice & McCoy 2021, ‘WCPFC kicks off negotiations on a new tropical tuna measure’ FFA Trade and Industry News, 14(2): March-April. Available at: https://www.ffa.int 

6 WCPFC, Chair’s Report of TTMW2, Development of a New Tropical Tuna Measure Workshop 2 (TTMW2), 6-10 September 2021.  Available at: https://www.wcpfc.int

7 ibid; various TTMW2 meeting papers; insights from TTMW2 attendees. All documents available at: https://www.wcpfc.int

8 WCPFC, Chair’s Consultative Draft CMM 2021-01 – 1 October 2021, Circular 2021/82; Chair’s Revised Consultative Draft CMM 2021-2 – 1 November 2021, Circular 2021/94; copies provided to authors. 

9 IATTC, Conservation Measures for Tropical Tunas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2022-2024, Resolution C-21-04, adopted at 98th Meeting (Resumed), 18-22 October 2021.  Available at: https://www.iattc.org

10 Jason Holland 2021. ‘NGOs express disappointment after IATTC fails to advance tuna conservation measure’, Seafood Source, 31 August. Available at: https://www.seafoodsource.com; ‘ISSF disappointed at IATTC’s failure to adopt tropical tuna conservation measures’, Undercurrent News, 31 August 2021. Available at: https://www.undercurrentnews.com  

11 Jason Bittel 2021, ‘These popular tuna species are no longer endangered, surprising scientists’. National Geographic, 6 September.  Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2021/0...

12 IUCN 2021. ‘Tuna species recovering despite growing pressures on marine life - IUCN Red List’, IUCN Press Release, 4 September. Available at: https://www.iucn.org/news/species/202109/tuna-species-recovering-despite...

13 ibid.

14 IUCN World Conservation Congress Meeting Site. Available at: https://www.iucncongress2020.org/.  Access 29 October 2021. 

15 See Campling, Havice & McCoy 2015. ‘US proposes implementing rule to protect marine mammals in international fisheries’, FFA Trade & Industry News, 8 (4): July-August; Havice, McCoy & Campling 2017. ‘US marine mammal rule aims to reduce by-catch associated with imported seafood’, FFA Trade & Industry News, 10 (2): March-April. Available at: https://www.ffa.int 

16 US Federal Register, Modification of Deadlines Under the Fish and Fish Product Import Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 50 CFR Part 216, Vol. 85, No. 213, 3 November 2020.  Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-11-03/pdf/2020-24210.pdf

17 ibid. 

18 Industry source, pers. comm., October 2021. 

19 Toan Dao 2021.’European Commission, Vietnam talking over yellow card issues later in October’, Seafood Source, 8 October. Available at: https://www.seafoodsource.com

20 Toan Dao 2021. ‘Vietnam aims to end illegal fishing in 2022’, Seafood Source, 16 July. Available at: https://www.seafoodsource.com

21 World Bank 2021. A trade-based analysis of the economic impact of non-compliance with Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: The Case of Vietnam. World Bank: Washington DC. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36132 

22 Toan Dao 2021. ‘European Commission to Conduct yellow card inspection in Vietnam in Q1 2022’, Seafood Source, 3 November. Available at: http://www.seafoodsource.com 

23 Klein 2021. ‘How Walmart hooked a sustainable tuna supplier’, GreenBiz, 25 October. Available at: https://www.greenbiz.com 

24 ibid.

25 ‘Global tuna supply chain disrupted: New, sustainably-sourced product to line shelves of world’s biggest retain chain’, Press Release, 5 October 2021. Available at: https://www.nature.org 

26 Pacific Island Tuna website: https://www.pacificislandtuna.com; accessed 31 October 2021. 

27 Benjamin Ferrer 2021. ‘Marshall Islands’ joint venture with tuna industry claims “sustainability and profitability are not at odds”, Food Ingredients 1st, 7 October.  Available at: https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com 

28 For more details, see GDST’s website: https://traceability-dialogue.org 

29 Ned Daly 2021. ‘Growing fast, GDST launches executive director search’, Seafood Source, 11 October. Available at: https://www.seafoodsource.com

30 The full list of adopting companies is available at: https://traceability-dialogue.org/gdst-adopters-endorsers/ 

31 ‘Fishing Industry Association (PNG) Inc., newest member of the Global Dialogue of Seafood Traceability’, FIA PNA Press Release, 20 September 2021. Available at: https://traceability-dialogue.org/gdst-news-_/  

32 ‘iFIMS: The backbone of PNA fisheries management’, PNA Press Release, 18 October 2018. Available at: https://www.pnatuna.com/

33 ‘Fishing Industry Association (PNG) Inc., newest member of the Global Dialogue of Seafood Traceability’, FIA PNA Press Release, 20 September 2021. Available at: https://traceability-dialogue.org/gdst-news-_/

34 Havice, Campling & McCoy 2021, ‘Indian Ocean yellowfin rebuilding measure falls short due to IOTC member objections’, FFA Trade & Industry News, 14(3): May-June. Available at: https://www.ffa.int/trade_news 

35 Princes 2021. ‘Princes Group reaches 50% yellowfin cut goal a year ahead of deadline as pandemic impacts sourcing’. Press Release, 29 October. Available at: https://www.princesgroup.com/news/princes-group-reaches-50-yellowfin-cut...

36 ibid.