Our Oceans 2015, 6 October 2015, Valparaiso, Chile

OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE FLAGSHIP

Transforming monitoring and assessment of international fisheriesCampbell Davies, Mark Bravington, Peter Grewe and many others

Perennial Challenges for Sustainable Fisheries

• How many fish are being caught?• How many fish are left?• Agreeing how many can be caught in the future.

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A case for change – Southern Bluefin Tuna

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Strong evidence of Recruitment failure

Highly depleted stock

High uncertainty in:• CPUE (abundance)• Total catches

4 lowest years on record

historical low of 3-5% unfished Spawning biomass

Requires new fisheries independent approaches

How many spawning SBT are there?Close-kin Abundance

• Each fish has 2 parents• Juveniles “tag “ adults• Catch adults and juveniles• Count the no. of Parent-

Offspring-Pairs• Adult abundance is inversely

proportional to number of matches

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Juveniles

Adults

SBT• Successful six year study, international peer review• ~2.5 times higher than assessment; reduced uncertainty in stock status• Results incorporated in international stock assessment (CCSBT)• High priority for monitoring of spawning stock and success of rebuilding

What’s the catch? Tackling IUU and mis-reporting•What Species?•Which Ocean?•Is it from a managed

fishery?

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Species ID on your phone ?

Catch - More accurate, timely & transparent Modern genetics provide the tools for:• Species ID in the field• Provenance of fish populations

across the globe• Individual ID and product

tracking

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P.M. Grewe, et al, In press. Evidence of discrete yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) populations demands rethink of tuna management. Nature – Science Reports

Discrete pan-Pacific yellowfin tuna populations

Western Pacific Eastern Pacific

Western Pacific

Practical application:• Truth in labeling• Accurate catch estimates• Identifying IUU catch

Practical implementation of the precautionary approachHarvest strategy• Combination of monitoring,

assessment, harvest control rule, management objectives.

• Performance against objectives tested by simulation (Management Strategy Evaluation)

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CCSBT “Bali Procedure”• Rebuild stock to 20% unfished by

2035 with probability of 70%.• Inputs: Index of recruitment + CPUE• 2 global TAC decision cycles

complete, 3rd decision scheduled for 2016

Practical Achievable Actions• Increase momentum to ratify and Implement existing international agreements

• Targeted applications of species ID and provenance tools to identify sources of IUU (and close access to markets), increase sustainable yields and consumer confidence.

• Targeted studies of Close-Kin for appropriate populations of harvested stocks and threatened species to demonstrate general efficacy and cost-effectiveness

• Wider development and testing of formal harvest strategies to improve fishery performance, conserve biodiversity and increase transparency and cost-effectiveness of management.

• Global partnerships and collaboration a central requirement

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Thank you

Dr Campbell Davies

Campbell.Davies@csiro.auCSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, Hobart, Tasmania, Australiawww.csiro.au

9 Our Oceans 2015, Valparaiso, Chile | Campbell Davies