Preliminary Review of ICCAT and IATTC Progress in Applying an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management

There are increasing expectations for RFMOs to implement an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. We constructed an idealized Driver-Pressure-State-Ecosystem Services-Response conceptual ecological model for a role model tuna RFMO and used it to assess the progress of ICCAT and IATTC in applying an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Both RFMOs have taken steps, yet the extent of their ecosystem-related research activities and programs differed markedly and occurred under different fundamental institutional structures. Both tuna RFMOs have a long list of management measures to mitigate the effects of fishing on target and by-catch species, and no measures to account for the impacts of fishing on the food web structure and trophic relationships and protections of sensitive habitats. The management measures in place to reduce bycatch have by large not been linked to pre-agreed operational objectives and associated indicators, and are not activated when a predefined threshold is exceeded. In the future, we intend to evaluate the progress of the five tuna RFMOs in applying an ecosystem approach to fisheries to find examples of good practices that can be transferred across them.