Regional Government represented at annual meeting of International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Mar e das Pescas

The 28th annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) was held in Cairo (Egypt) from November 13 to 20, 2023. Its primary goal was to determine management measures for the world's tuna and similar fisheries in the Atlantic and adjacent seas.

This meeting was attended by about 600 delegates from 52 Contracting Parties (CPs), 5 Cooperating Parties (Bolivia, Chinese Taipei, Suriname, Guyana and Costa Rica) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

The European Union (EU) was represented by a delegation that included representatives from the administrations of different Member States (MS), the productive sector and NGOs, with observer status. The Government of the Azores, represented by the Regional Directorate for Fisheries (DRP), accompanied the Portuguese delegation from the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM).

The Government of the Azores has followed the discussions and consensus reached at EU level on the management of fisheries under ICCAT management with great expectations, particularly for Bigeye (Thunnus obesus), Bluefin (Thunnus thynnus), Albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and Bonito (Katsuwonus pelamis) species, given their importance to the social and economic balance of Azorean coastal communities, as well as North Atlantic Swordfish (Xiphias gladius).

It should be noted that the consensus reached does not alter the measures in force for the species of interest for 2024, with the exception of North Atlantic albacore tuna, which saw an increase of 25% in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2023, increasing the EU quota to 47,251 tonnes and, consequently, the Portuguese quota to 35,815.87 tonnes.

As for the other species, such as bluefin tuna, the TAC now established for four years has set an EU quota of 21,503 tonnes, which will be divided between the different member states. In this case, Portugal will be allocated an initial quota of 637.88 tonnes that will be adjusted and deducted in the event of overfishing. The national Bluefin tuna quota will subsequently be allocated to tuna traps located on the south coast of Mainland Portugal for bycatch and for traditional pole-and-line fisheries in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.

As for bigeye tuna, the TAC for 2024 has been set at 62,000 tonnes, corresponding to an initial EU quota of 13,421.31 tonnes, which will be distributed among member states after adjustments.

The Government of the Azores expects the national quota will remain at 2,823.84 tonnes, with 85% allocated to the autonomous regions. At the annual meeting, it was also decided that the Bonito tuna, which still has no TAC established, will undergo a scientific stock assessment. The TAC for North Atlantic swordfish was set at 13,200 tonnes for 2024, with the EU having an initial quota of 6,677.3 tonnes.