Minister Zaha calls out IOTC members over disappointing tuna-preservation commitments

Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has expressed her disappointment at The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) organization for failing to present revised measures on rebuilding near threatened stocks of overfished yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean. at the IOTC Special Session held earlier this week.

Minister Zaha made the remarks in a tweet posted on her personal account on Friday, where she expressed deep disappointment that the IOTC Special Session concluded without a revised measure on rebuilding yellowfin tuna stocks. Minister Zaha added that yellowfin tuna stocks were overfished all across the Indian Ocean, and stated that IOTC member states must all compromise for the conservation of yellowfin tuna.

The Maldives' delegation at IOTC had submitted a proposal at IOTC Special Session, which outlined about a 15 percent reduction from the 2015 baseline for yellowfin tuna fishing, with a responsible catch limit of 346,438 tonnes. The proposal had received support from other coastal states, but had not been adapted following the abject refusal of the European Union to compromise on their own high catch limit. The EU had defended their own distant water purse seine fleet, which the Blue Marine Foundation identifies as the largest harvester of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean.

Maldives' delegation has been reported to have expressed desperation and sadness at the disappointing outcome, declaring that “This is not a negotiation – this is political greed”, in referring to the exchange.

There will be another meeting for the IOTC in June this year, and international parties are looking to Maldives for more leadership ahead of the event to procure effective solutions to the overfishing of yellowfin tuna. Maldives practices Pole-and-Line fishing for tuna, which is by far the least impactful and most sustainable method of fishing tuna as recognized by scientific research.