Area 87 (Pacific, Southeast)

Note: This FIP went inactive on March 31, 2020.

Confremar LLC USA is hosting a fishery improvement project for Pacific swordfish landed in Peru by two Spanish flagged longline vessels.  The product is frozen onboard.  The goal of the FIP is to help the fishery achieve certification by the Marine Stewardship Council with stepwise program improvements launched by Confremar.  Launched on August 21, 2017, the first actions in the FIP were for improved reporting of catch and effort reporting and support of conservation and management measures for incidental shark catches, beginning with support for a unified CMM.  In the first quarter of 2018 the FIP focused on shark survival after release from the gear and return to the ocean.  Then FIP priorities expanded in 2019 to include seabirds and turtles due to the adoption of two new conservation and management measures at the 15th regular WCPFC session (December 2018) for mitigating fishing impacts to seabirds (2018-03) and turtles (2018-04) as well as the failure to adopt a unified CMM for sharks.  Implementation of the specific gear and other mitigative steps in 2018-03 and 2018-04 is a new priority for the FIP.

This profile was completed by achieving certification of 1 tuna species, only including yellowfin tuna, and a new profile will address the other two species.

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Ecuadorian fishing firms created TUNACONS in July 2016 as a joint effort to promote a Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) for purse-seine tuna fisheries. This effort will build a process to achieve Marine Stewardship Council Standard (MSC) certification. Meeting the MSC Standard is widely accepted in global markets with the acknowledgement that a certified fishery’s products come from a sustainable production model.

TUNACONS involves 58 Purse Seine vessels, that represent almost 20% of the fleet operating in the area. The FIP is managed by the Tuna Conservation Group (TUNACONS) together with WWF Ecuador and with the support of the Ecuadorian Ministry of aquaculture and fishing, National Fishery Institute, and EPESPO Fishery School of the EPO

TUNACONS MEMBERS AND VESSELS

• NEGOCIOS INDUSTRIALES REAL NIRSA S.A.

1. Drennec.
2. Elizabeth F.
3. El Márquez.
4. Gabriela A.
5. Gloria A.
6. María del Mar A.
7. Milagros A.
8. Milena A.
9. Rafa A ..
10. Ricky A.
11. Roberto A.
12. Rosa F.
13. Via Simoun.

• GRUPO JADRAN

1. Reina De La Paz
2. Diva Maria.
3. Ljubica.
4. Juan Pablo II

• EUROFISH

1. Rocio – Pesquera Rocio SA
2. Doña Roge – Pesquera Doña Roge SA
3. Doña Maruja – Pesquera DoñaMaruja SA
4. Don Bartolo – Pesquera Don Bartolo SA
5. Don Igilio– ELVAYKA.
6. Chiara – ELVAYKA.
7. Giuletta – ELVAYKA.
8. Jo Linda – ELVAYKA.
9. Don Antonio – ELVAYKA
10. Alina – Transmarina.
11. Alessia – ELVAYKA.
12. Adriana – Eurofish.
13. Miranda – Transmarina.

• SERVIGRUP

1. Claudia L.
2. Domenica L.
3. Fiorella L.
4. Malula.
5. Rossana L.
6. Panchito L.
7. Yolanda L.

• TRIMARINE

1. Cape Breton.
2. Cape Cod.
3. Cape Elizabeth III.
4. Cape Ferrat.
5. Cape Finisterre.
6. Cape May.
7. Ferrigno Boy
8. Cape Blanco
9. Barbara H.

New Members :

•  Marbelize S.A. – PESDEL S.A.

1. Betty Elizabeth
2. Fortica
3. Lizi
4. Martina C.
5. Milenka C.
6. Yelisava

• MANACRIPEX - GRUPO BUEHS

1.  SOUTHERN QUEEN
2. CAP. TINO B.
3. CAP. DANNY B.
4. BERNARDITA B.
5. EL CONDE
6. CAP. BERNY B.

• PACIFICTUNA 

1. Antonio H.
2. Doña Tula

Among the coastal pelagic species of the Northern Humboldt Current System (NHCS), Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is predominant and it supports one of the most important single species fisheries worldwide. Peruvian anchovy landings by the industrial sector are used for indirect human consumption.  The NHCS is an important sector of one of the most productive world marine ecosystems: the Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem.  The Humboldt Current extends along the coasts of Chile and Peru; the NHCS corresponds to Peru.

In 1955, the first management measures for the Peruvian anchovy fishery were implemented, when a minimum catch size of 12 cm and a minimum mesh size were established.  In the 1970s, new measures were drafted related to catch control by means of establishing annual global fishing quotas.

There are three fishing fleets targeting the Northern-Central stock of Peruvian anchovy: there is an artisanal fishing fleet of vessels of less than 10 m3 GRT; a small-scale fishing fleet of vessels of more than 10 m3 GRT and less than 32.6 m3 GRT; and an industrial fishing fleet of vessels larger than 32.6 m3.  Only industrial landings are to be used to produce fishmeal.  

Currently, the most important fishery management measures are:

• Total allowable catches
• Maximum Allowable Catch per Vessel (industrial fleet)
• Minimum catch size of 12 cm
• Minimum mesh size 13 mm – ½”
• Regulation of the fishing capacity or effort of fishing vessels
• Time and space closures for the protection of juveniles and the reproductive process
• Exclusion zone for industrial fishing up to 5 marine miles from the coast
• Establishing a maximum percentage of bycatch of other species, maximum 5% of the catch.
• Establishing a Surveillance and Control Program of Marine Fishing and Landing, as well as Satellite Follow Up.

Regarding research, the Peruvian fishery research institute (Instituto del Mar del Perú, IMARPE) dedicates significant financial and human resources to the follow-up and research of this fishery. It benefits from a large data flow, both regarding the Peruvian anchovy stock as well as the group of variables and impacts related to it.  Also, during the last fifty years, industrial vessels have participated from activities related to fishing data collection.

At the start of this FIP, the main issues regarding the sustainability of the fishery were:

1. It is necessary to demonstrate that the fishery complies with the requirement of attending the needs of the ecosystem.
2. It is required that harvest control rules in a low biomass scenario are more explicit, as well as the management objectives related to the ecosystem.
3. It is necessary to address unreported fishing and illegal vessels, which represent a potential danger for the sustainability of the fishery.
4. It is necessary to achieve a better understanding of the direct impacts of the Unit of Assessment on ETP species and habitats.

Perfil de FIP en Español

This profile was completed by achieving certification of 1 tuna species, only including yellowfin tuna, and a new profile was created to address continued improvement for skipjack and bigeye tuna: Eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack and bigeye tuna - purse seine (AGAC).

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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 Eastern 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.

FIPプロフィールレポート

Perfil de FIP en Español