PEW, Greenpeace and World Wide Fund (WWF) have congratulated the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) for their increased commitments to the sustainable management of their tuna fisheries.
Amanda Nickson, Director Global Tuna Conservation campaign Pew Environment Group; Alfred Schuman, director Smart Fishing Initiative World Wide Fund for Nature; Sari Tolvanen, Project Leader Global Tuna Overfishing campaign, Greenpeace International, made the statement on Tuesday.
They said PNA countries have taken steps that make them leaders in the implementation of the ecosystems approach to the management of tunas, ranging from prohibitions on the setting of nets on whale sharks to rules on the FAD use in their waters.
Best of all, these measures will be validated by 100% observer coverage.
“These actions have earned the PNA free-school fishery an eco-label certification – the first of its kind for a purse seine skipjack tuna fishery.”
The PNA approach to fisheries management has gone beyond traditional single-species management and more fully embraces the eco-systems approach.
Information coming from PNA purse seine vessels on tuna catch and bycatch including sharks, turtles and marine mammals will be collected and transmitted to fisheries authorities in full confidence with international best standards, exceeding the measures in place in similar fisheries worldwide.
“Specifically, the PNA should be praised for further advancing international standards by committing to independent at seas observers verify catches of dolphins, sharks, whales and turtles on purse seine vessels.
“We further recognise PNA’s efforts to promote the closure of marine areas to all purse seine fishing as a better way to achieve ecosystem-based fisheries management.”
