Indian Ocean swordfish

Indian Ocean swordfish - longline

Overview

FIP Description

The Malaysian Swordfish fishery is governed by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), with actions implemented by the Government of Malaysia. The FIP for this fishery began in 2018 and has made significant governance improvements since. Efforts between 2018 and 2020 were focused on electronic reporting and monitoring for better control of the fishery’s catch; for example, FIP participants took part in the Regional Observer Program for carrier vessels and fishing vessels to monitor transshipment at sea, and the Department of Fisheries in Malaysia has installed CCTV on every vessel including IBU WIRA 1, IBU WIRA 2 & IBU WIRA 3. These are major achievements that increase oversight of the fishery tremendously and represent a considerable score increase on Principle 3 (Governance) of the Marine Stewardship Council standard, compliance and enforcement (3.2.3).

In 2023 the major FIP action, in addition to regular catch reporting, will be to review vessel practices against the requirements in the applicable IOTC resolutions for mitigating risks to ETP species.

How is this FIP Doing?

Current Status:

14%

75%

% of Indicators Tracked

89%

Actions Progress

Actions Overview

Behind	On Track	Complete	Future
75%	25%	0%	0%

Red Indicator Progress

Behind	On Track	Complete	Future
50%	50%	0%	0%

FIP Progress Rating

C - Some Recent Progress

FIP Objective(s)

The FIP hopes to achieve the following objectives by December 2023:

Determine the level of indirect impact of the fishery on the identified ETP species. Determine whether the information basis is sufficient to draw confident and robust conclusions. (2.3.1, MSC 2016:197)
Implement new measures and strategies, so that, where possible, these are binding and develop monitoring protocols to incentivize compliance. (2.3.2, MSC 2016:214)
Consider the potential for unintended or indirect ecosystem impacts of the fishery and ensure that on-going research and data collection are adequate to identify these changes. (2.3.3, MSC 2016:226)
Give consideration to the ecosystem role of the target species and the wider ecosystem impacts (both direct and indirect) in the setting of fishing opportunities. (2.5.1, MSC 2016:266)
Consider the potential for unintended or indirect ecosystem impacts of the fishery and ensure that on-going research and data collection are adequate to identify these changes. (2.5.3, MSC 2016:302)

FIP Type

Basic

FIP Stage

Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management

Start and Projected End Dates

August, 2018

December, 2026

Species

Common Name

Swordfish

Scientific Name

Xiphias gladius