Report of the 2017 Intersessional meeting of the Sub-Committee on Ecosystems

Citation
ICCAT Secretariat (2018) Report of the 2017 Intersessional meeting of the Sub-Committee on Ecosystems. Collect Vol Sci Pap ICCAT 74:3565–3638
Abstract

The Sub-Committee on Ecosystems Intersessional meeting was held in Madrid, 10-14 July. The meeting included discussions on how to continue the progress made on the Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management within ICCAT, including the outcomes of a joint tuna RFMO meeting held in Rome at the end of 2016. As regards by-catch the Secretariat presented a proposed revision to the ST09 observer data collection forms, as well as a report card on submission of this data. An update to the assessment of the impact of ICCAT fisheries on sea turtles was also presented resulting in a recommendation for sea turtle mitigation. The collaborative work amongst CPC scientists to assess seabird bycatch in the pelagic longline fleets operating in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans was presented as well. The Sub-Committee also noted that several teleost fish species are caught as by-catch but not considered by other SCRS Species Groups and these species were noted for further attention.