4 Dec 2018

Hopes for limit on albacore catch

6:35 pm on 4 December 2018

Limiting the quantity of albacore taken from the Pacific is a key focus of next week's Tuna Commission meeting, the Worldwide Fund for Nature says.

Frozen albacore tuna offloaded in Lami, Fiji

Frozen albacore tuna offloaded in Lami, Fiji Photo: RNZ / Philippa Tolley

The Commission, officially called the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, meets in Honolulu.

The fund's tuna programme manager, Bubba Cook, said his organisation wanted limits put in place to ensure the sustainability and longevity of the albacore tuna fishery.

The vitally important fishery has been depressed in recent years due to a massive influx of vessels from the distant water fishing nations, Mr Cook said.

"So we want to see some limitations put on - not just the amount of fish that can be withdrawn, in the form of a target reference point that needs to be maintained - but also in the number of vessels allowed to fish in the region, which is always a challenge in this organisation," he said.

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