South Pacific SPRFMO highlights improved biomass status of mackerel resource
October 23rd, 2017
This was announced at the last Regional Fisheries Organization of the South Pacific (SPRFMO),meeting held in Shanghai, where the Under-Secretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) and the Institute for Fisheries Promotion (Ifop) were present.
The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture described as good news the announcement delivered by the Regional Organization for Fisheries in the South Pacific (SPRFMO) on mackerel fishing status. International Scientific Committee, which determined at its fifth meeting in Shanghai, China, a significant improvement in the condition of mackerel stock, with biomass in 2017 on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), recommending an increase in the catch quota for the 2018.
Maria Angela Barbieri, head of Subpesca fishery division, said that these positive results for mackerel fishery “are the product of good recruitment during the 2015-2016 period and low fishing mortality experienced by the resource in recent years. By 2018, a quota of mackerel for the entire South Pacific of 576,000 tons was recommended as the maximum value. ”
Likewise, the authority of Subpesca indicated that in terms of cuttlefish resource the scientific committee requested “to continue working on the collection of bio-fish resource information to advance towards a future regional stock assessment.”
At present, cuttlefish stock evaluation at RFMO-PS is in development process, some countries such as China have presented studies with production models that have not yet been reviewed by this Committee.
Ignacio Paya, IFOP professional, explained that in the case of deep-sea fisheries, evaluation models and exploitation of the Orange roughy by New Zealand and Australia, exploratory deep-sea cod fishing and a proposal for exploratory fishing of crustaceans in seamounts by Cook Islands. In ecosystem aspects the impact of fishing on vulnerable environments and birds was analyzed.
OROP PS
Recall that the work of the Scientific Committee of RFMO-RFP focuses mainly on the fisheries of mackerel, cuttlefish, deepwater (Orange rouhgy and deep-sea cod) and several ecosystemic aspects, where the Instituto de Fomento (IFOP), through its professionals Juan Carlos Quiroz and Ignacio Paya, have advised on the technical subjects on the evaluation of stock of Horse mackerel and Horsetail.
The sixth meeting of the Regional Organization for the Fishing of the South Pacific (PSRO RFP) will be held in our country during September 2018.