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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Study aims to protect tuna stocks |09 May 2005

Study aims to protect tuna stocks

Launching the region's largest tuna research exercise after some 15 years of planning

The Regional Tuna Tagging Project (RTTP), worth about 14 million Euros, aims to catch, tag and release more than 80,000 tuna across the Indian Ocean. The five-year study is being implemented by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), with the support of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), to uncover data on the region’s tuna stocks and allow policymakers to manage them better.

The study was launched at the fishing port alongside the two research ships, the Aita Fraxku and the Kermantxo, and had a guest list that included IOC secretary general Monique Andreas-Esoavelomandroso, ministers, diplomats, fishing officials, and also Juan Carlos Rey, the head of a delegation from the European Union, which is funding the study.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Rey said the study was a first for the region, and indicated that it would allow not only IOC nations but also coastal African countries to obtain reliable information about the Indian Ocean’s fisheries resources.

Citing dramatic increases in tuna catches in previous years – the industrial catch rose by 23 percent from 2000 to 2003 – Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Ronny Jumeau said the research was of “crucial importance” for the region as a whole but perhaps especially for Seychelles.

“We all know that fisheries is one of the two pillars of the Seychelles economy and tuna fishing is of predominant importance in our fisheries sector in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings,” the minister said in his speech.

With the export of canned tuna and other tuna products making up more than 85 percent of the value of the country’s total direct exports, Seychelles had “an obligation, far more than most, to safeguard this resource,” he said.

Both Minister Jumeau and IOTC executive secretary Alejandro Anganuzzi hinted, however, that scientific study was just one aspect toward saving tuna stocks. They noted that policing measures must also be strengthened to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Friday’s ceremony marked the end of some 15 years of planning, said Mr Anganuzzi, and the start of “one of the most challenging research programmes ever attempted in the region.”

Scientists hope to recover around 15 percent of the total number of tags. If more are recovered, it could be an indication that tuna in the region is being heavily exploited, said Mr Anganuzzi.

If the number is less, it could mean the stocks are stable, but one of the main concerns for the five-year study is whether recovered tags will actually be reported back to IOTC. “It’s tricky,” he said. “There are many variables.”

Locally the IOTC is awarding prizes for the recovery of the tags – R50 or a T-shirt for the return of the normal yellow tags, or R350 for the return of red electronic tags.

After Minister Jumeau and Mr Anganuzzi cut a ribbon in front of the ships to signify the official launch, the study’s chief coordinator, Jean-Pierre Hallier, handed special commemorative tags to the minister, Ms Andreas-Esoavelomandroso and Mr Rey.

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