Webinaire BLUE JUSTICE

#10 – January 31 2025, 11h AM (France)

Patrice Guillotreau works as researcher at IRD (Institute of Research for the Sustainable Development) in MARBEC (Sète, France), a research unit specialised in marine biodiversity, exploitation and conservation. His research focuses on the economics and management of marine resources. Among other issues, he has been working on the organisation of tuna markets, the vulnerability of marine systems to global change, the development of small-scale fisheries and the assessment of sea-related ecological footprints.

Equitable pathways for sustainable tuna fisheries management in the Indian Ocean

Sustainability in fisheries hinges upon a multifaceted approach. Within the Indian Ocean, tuna fisheries management by RFMOs faces challenges due to unsustainable exploitation, uneven access to catch opportunities, and increasing stakeholder tensions. Our integrated approach combines a stock assessment operating model, several management scenarios used for decadal projections and the resulting inequality metrics across fishing fleets. The application focuses on yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), which is targeted equally by both industrial and artisanal fleets. The study explores management options, including restrictions on DFAD (drifting fish aggregating device) sets, operational buoys, seasonal closures, and complete DFAD elimination. Results suggest that DFAD-free and seasonal closures effectively rebuild yellowfin tuna biomass but may also lead to increased inequality, either in catch or revenue distributional terms. Reducing DFAD fishing during the third quarter redistributes fishing opportunities more equitably.

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