Area 71 (Pacific, Western Central)

The Surat Thani blue swimming crab fishery is an important export product for Thailand with an export value of $60-80 million USD. The unit of assessment is located in the Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Thailand (between 6° and 13.5° North and 99° and 104.5° East). There are a number of critical issues facing this fishery, including the overexploitation of populations in heavily fished inshore areas, harvest of undersized crab and gravid females, lack of management plans or harvest strategies, and lack of enforcement capacity. Through the active involvement of FIP stakeholders - including the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Thai Frozen Food Association (TFFA), Thai Crab Product Group (TCPG) - and FIP participants, the sustainability challenges facing this fishery are being addressed.

This FIP encompasses all global tropical tuna stocks of three species: bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) for a total of 13 Units of Certification. In the case of this specific sub-FIP for the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, we deal with three stocks of tunas - one each for skipjack,  bigeye tuna, and yellowfin tuna.

Because of the set-up of FisheryProgress, the overarching FIP was broken into four sub-FIPs according to the relevant RFMO (IATTC, ICCAT, IOTC, and WCPFC). The reasoning behind this division is that each RFMO has different scores and actions for the various MSC principles, in particular for Principles 1 & 3. Had we grouped all RFMOs together, we would not have been able to present or track the various activities and timelines in a cohesive, clear and comprehensive manner.

Perfil de FIP en Español

Rooted in earlier projects by WWF Vietnam focused on bycatch best practices, the Vietnam yellowfin tuna FIP was launched in 2014, following the completion of a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) pre-assessment and ensuing FIP Action Plan (updated in 2023).  The Action Plan scores the yellowfin against MSC criteria, identifying gaps and recommended actions required to meet the MSC standard.  WWF Vietnam is the National FIP Manager and the Vietnam Tuna Association (VinaTuna) is also a member of the FIP Coordination Unit together with an International FIP coordinator supported by WWF-US.  

The FIP previously included the longline gear (pre-2020) but vessels historically using longline have converted to handline only.

Key Matrices:
Species: Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares)
Gear Type: Handline
Location: FAO Major Fishing Area 61 (Pacific, Northwest) and Area 71 (Pacific, Western Central) Exclusive Economic Zones 
Geographic Scope: Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa
Volume: 17,859 metric tons (2018)

FIP Collaborators
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) together with provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) are the key State agencies collaborating with the FIP Coordination Unit.  The FIP works with relevant MARD departments, particularly the Directorate of Fisheries (DFISH), the Department of Conservation and Aquatic Resource Development (DECAP) and the Research Institute of Marine Fisheries (RIMF).  

The yellowfin tuna FIP is directly supported by several international seafood companies (FIP Participants) engaged in various aspects of implementation – including field, market, policy and financing.  We also work with tuna processing industries in Vietnam in establishing FIP traceability.

The continued active involvement of international seafood companies, domestic processors and several national government agencies, are helping to improve the rate of progress in improvements against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard.

The tuna fisheries exploiting the western central Pacific tuna stocks are the largest of its kind, representing an annual catch of its kind, representing an annual catch of over two million tons. Bluefin and albacore tuna only represent marginal catches in this area because they are predominantly distributed in temperate rather than tropical waters. The skipjack and yellowfin stocks are estimated to be in good health, whereas bigeye is estimated overfished. While skipjack is smaller and usually serves the market of canned tuna, yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin tuna are the large tuna species that serve the markets of raw tuna products e.g. in the form of sushi. Hence, among the tuna serving these high-end markets, only yellowfin can be presumed to be in good health.

The fishery targeting yellowfin tuna mainly consists of industrial purse seiners that catch about 65% and longliners that take 20% of the catch. Of the total 500,000 t estimated to be caught annually, the handline fishery for large tunas only represents a marginal cause of mortality, catching an estimated 20,000 t annually, or <5% of the total yellowfin catch. This fishery occurs in the Philippines and Indonesia and is quite unique (the only similar fishery is in the Maldives). Despite its low impact on exploited stocks, the fishery has a high social impact, representing at least 10,000 artisanal fishermen. The handline tuna fishery occurs across the Philippines and, thanks to the gear used and fishing method, is highly selective. Large yellowfin tuna are caught using a circle hook baited with squid or small pelagic fish that is set at a depth around 100 m, where large tuna are found. The fishery comprises a number of small-scale outrigger vessels made of wood and nylon of sizes ranging from 3-20 m length, with a majority around 6-10 m length, and consists of crews between 1 and 8 people that would stay at sea for 1-7 days. See the fishery profile for more details on the fishery.

The FIP aims to improve the small-scale handline fishery for tuna using a stepwise approach by: 1) moving the fishery towards compliance with legal requirements and non-IUU conditions; and 2) building management structures and processes that would make the fishery eligible for MSC certification.

The Philippines yellowfin tuna FIP started in 2014 but the scoring at that time was based on a document that doesn't meet the requirements of Fisheryprogress. Therefore Year 0 is considered as 2017.

Initial Improvement Recommendations

• Implement vessel registration and FCR for ARTESMAR® suppliers in three pilot sites - DONE
• Design CDS and traceability system from vessel to export and implement it for all ARTESMAR® suppliers - DONE
• Design database for capturing all FCR, CDS and traceability information and implement it for all ARTESMAR® suppliers - DONE
• Design database for capturing all FCR, CDS and traceability information and implement it for all ARTESMAR® suppliers - DONE
• Implement full documentation of fishing trips and capture data for ARTESMAR landing sites - WORK IN PROGRESS
• Lobbying with BFAR to improve enforcement, management evaluation, and collaboration with the RFMO around Harvest Strategy and Control Rules - WORK IN PROGRESS
•  Knowledge transfer to fishermen for better handling to improve quality, and thus incomes through better pricing – WORK IN PROGRESS
• Improve cost-benefit control of fishery stakeholders – WORK IN PROGRESS