Resolution 00/02 On a survey of predation of longline caught fish

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC),

CONVINCED that the proper management of all marine resources should be based on scientific finding and on the principle of sustainable use as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, the Kyoto Declaration and FAO's International Plans of Action and Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries;

MINDFUL that the 23rd session of COFI agreed that greater consideration should be given to the development of more appropriate ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, in collaboration with both FAO and regional fisheries bodies;

RECALLING that in 1999, the Commission, recognising the importance of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management, endorsed a five year research programme on the predation by marine mammals and sharks on tuna caught on longlines, in order to collect comprehensive information, improve catch statistics, find possible methods of preventing predation and explore any possible implications for stock assessment of tunas and the ecosystem approach;

NOTING that preliminary estimates of predation of tuna and tuna-like species caught by the longline fishery indicate damage rates in some parts of the IOTC Area in the range of 10–30 % (IOTC/SC/00/11);

ALSO NOTING that the IOTC Scientific Committee agrees that the extent of predation unknown and might have important implications in terms of catch statistics and stock assessments and encourage the participation in the survey of other Member and Non­Member countries;