By Pita Ligaiula in Manila, Philippines
Fiji has delivered one of the strongest warnings yet at WCPFC22 in Manila, telling members that adopting the controversial Harvest Control Rule (HCR10) option for South Pacific albacore would push the stock and Pacific economies in the wrong direction.
HCR10 is one of the Harvest Control Rule (HCR) options being considered by WCPFC for the South Pacific albacore Management Procedure. While each HCR option sets different rules for how much the catch or effort limit should increase or decrease depending on the health of the stock, HCR10 is widely regarded by Pacific Island countries as the most lenient and least precautionary option.
Fiji’s Assistant Director of Fisheries, Nanise Tuqiri, said the Tuna Commission must decide whether it wants “a fishery that improves catch rates, strengthens vulnerable biomass and restores profitability” or one that locks in years of poor performance.
“For 20 years the current approach has not delivered,” she told delegates.
Tuqiri said HCR10 would not stabilise the fishery but “moves us further in the wrong direction by increasing catch at a time when stock is not improving.”
She warned the option would hit Fiji hard.
“HCR10 would effectively amputate our domestic fishery by tightening the supply of fish available to our processors, cut employment opportunities, constrain revenue for industry and undermine the long-term viability of a domestic fleet.
These impacts will flow directly into our coastal and urban communities. Deepening social economic vulnerabilities.” Tuqiri explained.
At the regional level, she said HCR10 reflects “an air of impudent optimism” that assumes the albacore stock can tolerate further pressure despite indicators showing otherwise.
“Higher catch limits may provide illusion of short-term stability, but they will sit on top of a stock that is highly variable and not improving.”
Tuqiri said choosing HCR10 would signal that the Commission is willing to accept continued decline in exchange for temporary relief for some fleets.
“In short, HCR10 does not simply fail to solve our problems. It deepens them, it increases the biological risk, weakens domestic fisheries like Fiji and pushes us further away from sustainable and profitable future that we all claim to see,” she said.
Fiji has called for HCR10 to be removed entirely from the list of options, as negotiations enter a final stage with the future of the longline fishery at stake.
