This ICCAT Recommendation amends Recommendation 21-08 by transitioning from the former Bluefin Tuna Recovery Plan to a multi-annual management plan for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The change is based on updated scientific advice showing that the stock no longer requires emergency measures. It introduces a Management Procedure (MP) with harvest control rules to guide Total Allowable Catches (TACs), which are set at 40,570 tons for 2023–2025, with future TACs to be reviewed in 2025. The Recommendation further clarifies provisions on quota allocations, fishing capacity, and farming capacity, ensuring alignment between fishing opportunities and sustainable stock levels. It emphasizes stronger traceability, monitoring, and reporting systems, particularly for live transfers and farming operations. The Recommendation also consolidates technical measures on minimum sizes, open seasons, by-catch management, and recreational fisheries, while strengthening control provisions. These include detailed requirements for vessel and farm registration, observer programs, and electronic documentation (eBCD) to verify catches and transfers. Enhanced monitoring via stereoscopic cameras, video footage, and control transfers ensures accurate accounting of catches and farm inputs. By streamlining definitions, reinforcing compliance frameworks, and adapting management to scientific evaluations, the Recommendation seeks to maintain the sustainability of Bluefin Tuna stocks while balancing the socio-economic needs of small-scale fleets and farming industries. The text consists of 238 Articles and 15 Annexes.
2022-01-01