Vietnamese Yellowfin Tuna Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP)
Fishing for Better Practices
About 90 per cent of our global commercial fisheries are either fully or over-exploited. At the same time, bycatch associated with commercial fishing is further decimating endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species.
Some 8.5 millions sea turtles and 11.5 millions other ETP species, including seabirds, marine mammals and sharks, are captured and discarded annually. As marine species around the world continue to decline, there is an urgent need to revolutionise our fishing practices so that we can continue to feed our appetite for seafood without eating our oceans to death.
One way to achieve this is with the help of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which provides certification to sustainably managed fisheries. This allows certified fisheries to receive significant benefits when people buy their fish and encourages other fisheries to adopt sustainable practices so as to be eligible for certification. This approach has been proven to have positive environmental effects, with MSC certified fisheries supporting healthier fish stocks and reduced bycatch.
With the overall aim of achieving MSC certification, the Vietnamese yellowfin tuna fishery has embarked on a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP). One of the FIP goals is a reduction in turtle bycatch in longline and handline fishing by replacing the conventional fishing hooks currently used with circle-shaped “C” hooks, which are harder for turtles to swallow or be caught on. Better yet, studies have found that the use of “C” hooks make little to no difference to the catch size of target species.
But despite the support of the Vietnamese government and dozens of fishing industry partners, it is estimated that only a small fraction of the yellowfin tuna fishing fleet is using “C” hooks. With bycatch driving declines in all five of Vietnam’s sea turtle species, it is crucial that the use of “C” hooks becomes commonplace in its fishing industry.
WWF is working on the yellowfin tuna FIP to significantly expand the use of “C” hooks to 165 fishing vessels and to monitor their effectiveness in reducing turtle and shark bycatch. We will also train local people in data collection, species identification and proper handling and de-hooking methods for any turtles that do get caught, as well as drawing up plans to expand “C” hook use to at least 50 per cent of the tuna fleet in the future.
