The number of tuna caught in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) has nearly tripled in the last 30 years, to more than 616,000 metric tons in 2002, yet the nations that have agreed to manage and conserve these fish stocks continue to sit on their hands.

The 2004 meetings of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) in Lima, Peru in June ended like they usually do: with little to show for them. The member and observer countries failed to adopt any effective measures to limit commercial fishing of tuna in the region or to reduce the incidental catch of other species such as dolphins or even to ensure enforcement of the weak conservation regulations that were adopted.

The resolutions passed during the June meeting sound impressive: they include resolutions on bycatch, "conservation of tuna in the EPO," and "conservation of sea turtles." But the language in them has all the teeth of a newborn baby.

The Devil in the Details

Take, for instance, the Resolution on the Conservation of Tuna in the EPO. Despite the fact, as noted in the resolution itself, that stocks of yellowfin and bigeye tuna "are at a level below that which would produce the average maximum sustainable yield," the IATTC could muster only a half-hearted measure that requires each of the 14 member nations to ban tuna fishing for one 42-day period during each of the next three years. (Incidentally, the commission rejected its own scientists' recommendations for much tougher conservation measures to ensure that fish populations do not continue to decrease.)

Likewise, the resolution on bycatch merely requires "fishermen on purse-seine vessels to promptly release unharmed, to the extent practicable, all sharks, billfishes, rays, dorado, and other non-target species." The key phrase here is "to the extent practicable," the sort of legal loophole that could allow fisheries to kill non-targeted species with immunity.

These lukewarm resolutions would seem to fly in the face of the IATTC's mission: Established by international convention in 1950, the commission is "responsible for the conservation and management of fisheries for tuna and other species taken by tuna-fishing vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean." The AIDCP is a multilateral agreement that, among other things, works to "reduce incidental dolphin mortalities in the tuna purse-seine fishery in the Agreement Area to levels approaching zero, through the setting of annual limits."

But even if the commission had adopted tougher resolutions, they would have little impact without serious penalties attached. Such penalties are in short supply with 2004 resolutions. Again, back to the conservation of tuna resolution: Violators of the 42-day moratorium presently face no real punishments. The resolution only asks the commission to develop "transparent and non-discriminatory criteria and procedures to adopt trade restrictive measures..."

The European Union, a pending member of IATTC, floated a proposal to allow countries to impose trade measures against countries that do not comply with conservation measures, but the commission barely even discussed it, claiming there was not enough time, among other excuses. The commission's arguments appeared to be little more than delay tactics, considering that the proposal was introduced before the week-long formal meeting began and that similar measures have been adopted by many of these countries in other fisheries agreements.

What's more, when compliance problems were addressed, representatives from Colombia walked out of the meeting, claiming that attempts to address infractions by commercial fishers under their flag were acts of hostility against their country.

"This commission is nothing more than a veil for countries to hide under so they can claim that they are working to protect fish stocks and prevent bycatch," said Kitty Block, special counsel to The HSUS's United Nations and Treaties section. "Not only are the conservation measures inexcusably inadequate, but the agreement also lacks a method for ensuring that even these pathetic regulations are enforced."

Laying Down the Law

During the discussion on the bycatch resolution, the United States proposed to add a sentence requiring longline tuna fishers to switch to a new type of hook which, studies indicate, reduces incidental death of sea turtles. The IATTC member countries rejected the proposal, forcing the U.S. to issue an ultimatum: Unless measures and compliance are strengthened, the United States will not support the current resolution on bycatch next year.

"The United States' tough stance on bycatch is heartening, but it's still unclear what kind of impact it will have on other members of the IATTC," The HSUS's Block says. "The commission has a long history of not really paying attention to science, scientific studies or even catch data."

If the commission were paying close attention to its own data, member nations would notice a very disturbing trend. In its own "Fishery Status Report" from 2003, based on data available to the IATTC, researchers note a precipitous increase in the numbers of tuna caught in the EPO.

"The average annual retained catch of yellowfin in the EPO by surface gear during 1987-2001 was 268 thousand metric tons," the report notes. "The preliminary estimate of the retained catch of yellowfin in 2002, 419 thousand [metric tons], is the greatest on record, exceeding the average for 1987-2001 by 56%."

The numbers for all tuna species don't look any better. "The estimated retained catch of all species in the EPO during 2002 was about 616 thousand [metric tons], which was about 5% greater than that for 2001, 588 thousand [metric tons], and much greater than the average for 1987-2001 of 421 thousand [metric tons]," the report says. "Mexican-, Ecuadorian-, and Venezuelan-flag vessels harvested about 26, 22, and 20%, respectively, of the retained catches of all species made in 2002."

"The IATTC can no longer afford to ignore the obvious: These numbers are unsustainable," Block says. "The commission must start to take its charge seriously. Or one day they may not have any fisheries to manage."