Maldives Pole and Hand Line Tuna Fisheries

Summary

The project will build WWF capacity to support sustainable tuna management in the Indian Ocean through participation in the MSC assessment of Maldives tuna fishery and use this as a leverage to further WWF’s global fisheries objectives in the Indian Ocean.

Background

The tuna fishery is one of the biggest yet most threatened fisheries in the world, mainly due to overfishing which has led to 5 of the 23 identified commercially exploited tuna stocks being overexploited and a further 11 being fully exploited.

In July 2009, a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification assessment for the Maldives Pole & Line and Handline Tuna Fisheries was launched upon request of the Maldives Seafood Processors and Exporters Association.

The assessment covers bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin species fished in the Maldives EEZ. This assessment is the first of its kind for tuna species in the Indian Ocean, which provides for 25% of the world’s production in tuna with steady increase in catch since 1982.

While skipjack and bigeye stocks are thought to be not currently subject to overfishing, Indian Ocean yellowfin is rated as nearing the maximum level of fishing and required monitoring by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) in 2009.

Tuna is a global commodity and is therefore high on the agenda of several WWF initiatives as well as individual national office marine conservation work, it is important that WWF formally takes part in this MSC process for the Maldives pole and line and handline tuna fisheries as a registered stakeholder.

Objectives

The goal of this project will be to contribute to sustainable tuna management in the Indian Ocean. There are two specific objectives:

1. To ensure that WWF’s concerns are effectively taken into account in the MSC assessment of the Maldives pole & line and handline tuna.
2. To develop WWF-MWIOPO’s capacity to effectively address tuna management in the Indian Ocean.