By a special correspondent in Bali

The Pacific and China are on a collision course as they search for agreement in the management of the region’s southern Albacore tuna stock, says a regional fisheries official.

Wez Norris, deputy director-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, was speaking at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting in Bali, which wrapped up without agreement on a measure to set an ideal stock level for Southern Albacore tuna.

The priority - also known as a “target reference point” - was one of the FFA’s top tasks for the meeting.

“Obviously we are deeply disappointed that such an important stock is going to sort of lag behind a year in terms of the development of a harvest strategy,” he said.

Southern Albacore tuna are the focus of the Tokelau Arrangement, which ten Pacific Island nations have signed in an attempt to take more control over the fishery through joint harvest control measures. 

“The main issue we have with China is about the reform of the albacore fishery,” he said.

“They’re just finishing this very large fleet expansion program and obviously that’s inconsistent with our push to reduce catch in the fishery to achieve the target reference point.”

Longline fleet expansion

With the support of subsidies from Beijing, China has embarked on a well-documented expansion of its longline fleet, which Norris said has been bolstered recently by 400 new vessels.

“They are quite small, they are fibreglass, they have low operating costs but the abilities to set very large numbers of hooks,” he said.

He said the catch records indicate the Chinese fleet has increased by “tens of thousands of tonnes” over the last five years.

“On the one hand they’ve done this huge ramp up, which they’ve been very transparent about, but that doesn’t really help us in a fishery that we’re trying put the brakes on and now that  we’re trying to pull back on,” he said.

“Having one player just quite brazenly expanding their fleet makes it very difficult to achieve some sort of consensus type management.”

When approached at the WCPFC meeting in Bali, China’s head of delegation did not respond to questions.

Critical levels

Scientists at Secretariat of the Pacific Community have recently assessed the stock to be more “fragile” than previously thought, according to the FFA.

If the current level of fishing continues, the SPC is estimates there is a 20 per cent chance that stocks will reach a critical level in the next 20 years.

“At some point, every country needs to embrace the science,” said Norris. “If there are legitimate issues with it, then let’s work with them.”

“Our call to them is to find a way to work with us, find a way that we can sit down together and we can talk about the importance of the albacore fishery to the pacific island countries,” he said. 

“Simply avoiding management is not in anyone’s interest, it’s not in the interest of the Chinese fleet because while they may be operating economically at the moment, if the stock continues to decline they certainly won’t be.”

On a positive note, he said China agreed at the meeting in Bali to provide additional data reporting on the albacore fishery.