International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is a regional fishery management organization (RFMO) responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas. The organization was established at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries, which prepared and adopted the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas [download the Basic Texts], signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1966. After a ratification process, the Convention entered formally into force in 1969.
The Convention area covers the entire Atlantic Ocean, including the Sargasso Sea Commission area of collaboration, however the authority is limited to management of tuna and tuna-like species. About 30 species are of direct concern to ICCAT: Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus thynnus), skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus); swordfish (Xiphias gladius); billfishes such as white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus), blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) and spearfish (Tetrapturus pfluegeri); mackerels such as spotted Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) and king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla); and, small tunas like black skipjack (Euthynnus alletteratus), frigate tuna (Auxis thazard), and Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda).
In 2019 ICCAT modernized the Convention and now also has the mandate to manage oceanic, pelagic, and highly migratory species of sharks and rays.
A variety of committees fall under the ICCAT structure, two of which include:
Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS)
The SCRS, is responsible for developing procedures for the collection, analysis and dissemination of fishery statistics. The SCRS also carries out stock assessments, and advises the Commission on conservation and management measures
Sub-Committee on Ecosystems (SC-ECO)
The 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calls for the sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems and requires that fishing be conducted with due regard for the environment. The Code also promotes the maintenance, safeguarding and conservation of biodiversity of ecosystems by minimizing fisheries impacts on non-target species and the ecosystem in general. Therefore, the objective of SC-ECO is to integrate the monitoring and research activities related to the ecosystem required by the SCRS for ICCAT to implement the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries.
Updates
As one of the two RFMOs, along with the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) with jurisdiction in areas of the Sargasso Sea, working with ICCAT is important to further the SSC's aims. Since 2010, members of The Sargasso Sea project and the Sargasso Sea Commission have attended the scientific and annual meetings of ICCAT. The SSC has presented numerous papers to SC-Eco to support ICCAT's implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries. The government of Bermuda— with Commission support—has proposed two resolutions relating to the Sargasso Sea, both of which were adopted These require ICCAT, as part of its duty to protect biodiversity in the marine environment, to examine the available data and information concerning the Sargasso Sea and its ecological importance to tuna and tuna-like species and ecologically associated species
2021
On May 5-7,10 2021, Drs. Laurence Kell, Brian Luckhurst, and Tammy Warren attended the Intersessional Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Ecosystems of ICCAT. They presented three papers. The first, titled 'Screening and Validation of Ecosystem Indicators,' gave an overview of potential methods for screening and validation of ecosystem indicators based on the Sargasso Sea case study. The SSC representatives explained that the Commission has gained funding under two projects - GEF and FFEM, and the sub-committee continues to support the project.
The Commission representatives also presented 'Terms Of Reference For Ecocard Intersessional Work,' which were modified by the sub-committee, and 'CONCEPT NOTE FOR ICCAT ECOREGION WORKSHOP: Identification of regions in the ICCAT convention area for supporting the implementation of ecosystem based fisheries management,' a workshop to identify reporting regions within the ICCAT convention area that will support the implementation of an EBFM framework, supported by funding until December 31, 2021.
Several recommendations came out of the meeting, including recommending that the SCRS allocates time for a review of EAFM related papers, reviewing the gaps in the catch-and-effort data in the ICCAT Database, and requesting 15,000 Euros to support CPC scientists at a collaborative workshop to discuss the relevance and the methodology used to delineate candidate ecoregions within the ICCAT convention area.
2020
In 2020, the scheduled meeting of the Ecosystem Sub-committee (SC-ECO) of ICCAT was conducted online due to the pandemic. The meeting was attended by Dr. Brian Luckhurst and Dr. Laurie Kell. A total of seven papers were presented to SC-ECO, with Dr. Laurie Kell as senior author, examining different types of ecosystem indicators. The list of papers can be found in the report section below.
2019
Dr. Brian Luckhurst and Dr. Laurie Kell attended ICCAT's Ecosystem Sub-committee (SC-ECO) meeting in 2019 and presented a paper entitled 'Toward ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Sargasso Sea'. Dr. Luckhurst attended the SCRS Plenary meeting where the SCRS endorsed the recommendation made at the SC-ECO meeting to adopt the Sargasso Sea as a case study for the implementation of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). This was subsequently confirmed by the ICCAT Commission later in the year.
2018
Dr. Brian Luckhurst and Dr. Laurie Kell (formerly of the ICCAT Secretariat) produced a paper commissioned by the SCC titled "Extending The Indicator-Based Ecosystem Report Card To The Whole Ecosystem; A Preliminary Example Based On The Sargasso Sea" (SCRS/2018/067). This was presented at the June 2018 Madrid meeting of the Sub-Committee on Ecosystems; it utilises a report card approach adopted by the committee in 2017. The Sub-Committee agreed to further develop the concepts presented in the paper.2017
Dr. Brian Luckhurst attended ICCAT's SCRS in 2017 having presented a paper earlier at the Ecosystem Subcommittee meeting entitled 'Aspects of the migration, seasonality and habitat use of two mid- trophic level predators, dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), in the pelagic ecosystem of the western Atlantic including the Sargasso Sea.' The principal figure in this paper provided evidence of a long-term seasonal migratory circuit of the Sargasso Sea by a PSAT-tagged dolphinfish.
2016
Following recommendations made in 2015 the UKOTs, in support of the Sargasso Sea Commission, put forward a draft Resolution to recognise the importance of the Sargasso Sea for a number of ICCAT species and its suitability as a possible pilot area for an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
Japan countered that there were other areas in the ICCAT Convention Area that were important and unique for ICCAT species and therefore proposed that the Resolution be broadened to recognise this fact. The resulting Resolution (Resolution 16-23), while containing all the pre-ambular wording of the UKOTs Proposal, resolved:
1. As part of advancing the work of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management, the SCRS will examine the available information on the trophic ecology of pelagic ecosystems that are important and unique for ICCAT species in the Convention Area.
2. The SCRS will provide an update on the progress of this work in 2018 and report back to the Commission with available findings in 2019, if possible.
2015
In 2015, the Sargasso Sea Commission (SSC) supported a delegation representing the UK Overseas territories to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) that included Commissioner Dr. Tammy Trott and Dr. Brian Luckhurst. At the meeting of the ICCAT's Ecosystem Subcommittee in Madrid (June 8-12), Dr. Brian Luckhurst presented his recent paper on the spawning areas in the Southern Sargasso Sea for swordfish, albacore tuna and white marlin (SCRS/2015/111). The Subcommittee is considering proposals on how to protect the habitat of these commercially important fish species. Click here to download the Subcommittee on Ecosystems report.
2014
Sargasso Sea Commissioner Dr. Tammy Trott, and Dr. Brian Luckhurst participated as members of the UKOT delegation at the ICCAT Ecosystems Subcommittee (Portugal - Sept. 1-5, 2014). The Subcommittee received two scientific papers prepared by Dr. Brian Luckhurst: "An analysis of 20 years of catch data of ICCAT species within the Sargasso Sea (SCRS/2014/119)" as well as a "Preliminary Food Web of the Pelagic Environment of the Sargasso Sea with a Focus on the Fish Species of Interest to ICCAT SCRS/2014/120)." These studies were commissioned by the Sargasso Sea Alliance.
Click here to download the Ecosystems Subcommittee report. The SCRS (Madrid- 29 Sept- 3 Oct. 2014) further discussed these papers. The SCRS report can be accessed here Dr. Tammy Trott also participated in the ICCAT Commission Meeting (Italy- 10-17 November, 2014).
2013
Drs. Tammy Trott and Brian Luckhurst participated in the July 2013 ICCAT Ecosystems Subcommittee meeting, on behalf of Bermuda, as members of the UKOT delegation. Dr. Luckhurst's inventory report and presentation on the significance of the Sargasso Sea for tuna and tuna-like species were well received. The ICCAT Ecosystem Subcommittee report (See Part I: Ecosystem, 6), states that discussions noted: "The Group recommends continuing the contact with Sargasso Sea research teams and the UK-Bermuda scientists to develop a scientific collaborative plan to accomplish objective 2 of Res [12-12]. Additionally, the Group recognized that the above work is providing a useful foundation for adopting this region as a basis for a case study in implementing the Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) approach within ICCAT and this collaboration should continue to be supported."2011 and 2012
In 2011, the Government of Bermuda formally introduced the Alliance objectives through an intervention at the meeting of the ICCAT Commission. At the 2012 Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Ecosystems (Sète, France – July 2 to 6, 2012), the Alliance discussed our initiative. The Sub-Committee encouraged the SSA's representative to submit to the Sub-Committee a SCRS document or similar report with more detailed information on their initiative. A summary paragraph was provided and is included as Appendix 4.
At the 2012 ICCAT Commission meeting (November 12-19, 2012- Agadir, Morocco), the ICCAT Commission resolved (see 12-12):
1. The SCRS will examine the available data and information concerning the Sargasso Sea and its ecological importance to tuna and tuna-like species and ecologically associated species.
2. The SCRS will provide an update on the progress of this work in 2014 and report back to the Commission with its findings in 2015.
Papers Presented to the SCRS
Report of the 2022 Ecoregions meeting
Jorda, Maria J., Andonegi, E., Alavarez, D., Murua, H., Coelho, R., Kell, L. Báez, J., Hanke, A, Terms Of Reference For Ecocard Intersessional Work. SCRS/2021/069
Kell, L., Tsontos, V., Luckhurst, B., Roe, H., Warren, T., Screening and Validation of Ecosystem Indicators. SCRS/P/2021/019
Jorda, Maria J., Andonegi, E., Alavarez, D., Murua, H., Coelho, R., Kell, L. Báez, J., Hanke, A, CONCEPT NOTE FOR ICCAT ECOREGION WORKSHOP: Identification of regions in the ICCAT convention area for supporting the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management. SCRS/2021/070
Kell L., Sharma R. and Winker H. An evaluation of data poor approaches for the evaluation of stock status in large ecosystems using only landings data. SCRS/2020/029
Kell L., and Sharma R., Evaluation of data poor approaches for evaluating stock status and trends: self-testing using biomass-based assessment models. SCRS/2020/030
Kell L.T., Sharma R., and Winker H. Evaluation of data poor approaches for evaluating stock status and trends: cross testing using integrated assessment models. SCRS/2020/034
Hanke A.R., Kell LT., and Fortuna C.M. A review of incidental cetacean bycatch reporting in EU waters. SCRS/2020/036
Kell L.R., Luckhurst B., Kimoto A., and Minto C. Screening and validation of length-based indicators. SCRS/2020/037
Kell L.T., Sharma R., Winker H., Kitakado T., and Mosqueira I. Non-stationarity in productivity of tropical tuna and the implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management. SCRS/2020/041
Kell L.T., Taylor N.G., and Palma C. Validation of productivity analysis for data limited stocks. SCRS/2020/047
Kell, L.T., Luckhurst B.E. and Leach A. Toward ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Sargasso Sea. SCRS/2019/055
Kell, L.T. and Luckhurst B.E. Extending the indicator-based ecosystem report card to the whole ecosystem; a preliminary example based on the Sargasso Sea. SCRS/2018/067
Luckhurst, B.E. A preliminary assessment of the ecological role and importance of squid in the pelagic trophic web of the northwest Atlantic Ocean including the Sargasso Sea. SCRS/2017/148
Luckhurst, B.E. Aspects of the migration, seasonality and habitat use of two mid- trophic level predators, dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), in the pelagic ecosystem of the western Atlantic including the Sargasso Sea. SCRS/2013/132
Luckhurst, B.E. Evidence of spawning in the southern Sargasso Sea of fish species managed by ICCAT – albacore tuna, swordfish and white marlin. SCRS/2015/111
Luckhurst, B.E. Analysis of ICCAT reported catches of tunas and swordfish in the Sargasso Sea (1992-2011). SCRS/2014/119
Luckhurst, B.E. A preliminary food web of the pelagic environment of the Sargasso Sea with a focus on the fish species of interest to ICCAT. SCRS/2013/132
Luckhurst, B.E. Elements of the ecology and movement patterns of highly migratory fish species of interest to ICCAT in the Sargasso Sea. SCRS/2013/132
