The Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project Ghana Pilot Activities

By

Papa Kebe

Ghana Pilot Coordinator

The Tuna Project, with a total budget of USD 178 million of which 30 million is a GEF grant, is the largest of the four projects (Tuna, Deep-Sea, OPP, Capacity) that constitute the Common Oceans Program.

The Common Oceans Program has the overall objectives to

• Address conservation and management issues in the high seas, for both pelagic and deep-sea fisheries.

• Improve capacity building, and encouraging investment in better managed fisheries.

Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project

Project partners

GEF Agency

FAO

Funding:

US$ 30 million

from GEF for

5 years

Co-funding US$

150.8 million

IATTC

Inter-American Tropical

Tuna Commission

ICCAT

International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tuna

ISSF

International Seafood

Sustainability Foundation

NOAA

National Oceanic & Atmospheric

Administration

WCPFC

Western & Central Pacific

Fisheries Commission

IOTC

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

Government of Ghana Government of Fiji

ISSA

International Seafood

Sustainability Association

FFA

Pacific Islands Forum

Fisheries Agency

SPC

Secretariat of the

Pacific Community

Executing Partners

OSPESCA

Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector

Organization of the Central

American Isthmus

CCSBT

Commission for the

Conservation of Southern Bluefin

Tuna

WWF

World Wide Fund

For Nature

BLI

BirdLife International

• The project focuses on “areas beyond national jurisdiction” (ABNJ) and is set to run from 2014 through 2018.

• We have to recognize that the sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in the ABNJ are

• difficult and challenging. • This global tuna project on fisheries management brings a wide group

of stakeholders working together in partnership towards sustainability

Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project

C.1 Sustainable

management

• Support to t-RFMO’s

adoption of harvest

strategies.

• Support science-

management dialogues.

• Support preparation of EAF

plans at RFMO level

C.2 Reduce IUU fishing

• Capacity building through a

global certification program

for MCS officers.

• Compliance improvement in

eligible t-RFMO members.

• Port State measures

template legislation

• Pilot trials in EMS on board

fishing vessels

• Best practices in MCS and

market controls

C.3 Reduce ecosystem

impacts

• Integrated shark

management plans across

the Pacific.

• Trials for mortality reduction

of seabirds in longliners.

• Trials for bycatch reduction

in purse seiners.

• Global Bycatch

Management and

Information Portal.

Component 4 Monitoring & Evaluation

Main Activities

• Compilation of best practices in MCS, in consultation with

RFMOs

• Network of officials to share experiences in tuna-related MCS

• Establishment of certification-based global course in MCS

• Electronic Monitoring Systems in Ghana (PS), Fiji(LL), and

Seychelles (PS)

• Port State Measures Agreement legal templates.

• Support to Compliance Support Missions (IOTC-ICCAT)

• Best practices for Catch Documentation Scheme

• Real time Consolidated List of Authorized Vessels (www.tuna-

org.org/globalTVR.htm)

Component 2 – Strengthening MCS and Compliance

Two pilot countries: Ghana------Fiji

The project entails the use of electronic observer systems

for purse seiners, tested and implemented in Ghana.

A companion pilot project for longline vessels will be

conducted in Fiji.

The aim is to then share experience, lessons and best

practices with all five tuna RFMOs.

Electronic Monitoring Systems

Who will benefit?

- Government of Ghana by improving the monitoring of their fleet

and of foreign licensed fleets

- Observers Program with a good coverage

- Better scientific and compliance information

- Tuna Operators by controlling activities on board their vessels

Who will help?

WWF is the lead agency implementing this activity.

ISSF as it has developed guidelines for the implementation of

EMS since several years, private sector.

Winner?

-Ghana as PRECURSOR in the world tuna fisheries.

Pilot activities in Ghana

The activities should be considered a pilot and need to be evaluated

later.

In Ghana: EMS deployment started with five PS vessels in

September.

Equipment will be deployed progressively on the whole fleet (17

Purse seine vessels) and will operate for until the end of the project

in late 2018

The selected supplier is providing hardware, software, methodology,

training and advice to assist Ghana with the development of its

capacity to carry out the monitoring activities independently.

Pilot activities in Ghana

Equipment deployed on board, includes :

• image capturing equipment (24h video recordings),

• satellite monitoring system

• hardware necessary to securely and safely store the

collected information during the fishing trip (server, hard

disk, etc.).

Pilot activities in Ghana

The EMS are being trialed on the Ghanaian flagged vessels

records video and VMS data that will capture data on:

• when and where each boat is fishing,

• what is caught and discarded

• the type of activity in which the boat is engaged.

The goal by the end of the pilot, is to have a functioning EMS

system on board Ghana’s entire purse seine fleet, test

relevant uses of the data and have a legal framework in place

to continue the use of the systems. The project will also

develop a business plan as part of its recommendations.

Pilot activities in Ghana

Position of the cameras on the vessels and range of

vision

Examples of images from the cameras recorded by the system

Size

measurement

and

identification

of species

Siz

e m

ea

su

rem

en

t

Shark discard

and estimation

of catch

1) Near-real-time information (system health statements)

2) Information during searching activities

3) Location and time of a set

4) Type of set (free school or associated school, FADs,

logs)

5) Information of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs)

6) Estimates of total catch

7) Estimates of species and size composition of target

tunas

8) Estimation of bycatch of large individuals.

9) Estimation of bycatch of small individuals

10) Estimation of discards of target tunas

11) Compliance with national and/or regional requirements

Type of information collected from the image analysis

- to complement and improve its human observer program

system with the EMS systems

- to verify compliance of fishing vessels with national and/or

regional requirements

- to get better estimates of catch composition and the

fishing effort to attain the catches.

- to develop human observer capacity through training,

provision of equipment and software.

- to develop good practices in their tuna fisheries

Lack of data has long been an issue off the Atlantic Coast of

Africa, and this information will allow the Ghanaian

government to improve data reporting.

Opportunities for Ghana

The supplier will assist Ghana in developing proficiency in processing data

recorded by EM systems. The training on data will include:

Review of EM data inventories and examination of procedures for data storage,

Install and set up EM analysis software,

Resource materials and training on EM analysis software,

Analyzing and reviewing image material

Identifying vessel activities on the basis of the image, and VMS data collected

Assisting in determining, on the basis of the data collected, whether the vessel

has incurred in activities incompatible with existing domestic and international

regulations;

Assist with development of methodologies for analysis and reporting of EM

data, including methods for estimation of species and size composition of the

catch,

Review methods for troubleshooting and reporting problems related to the

software.

Capacity Building activities

Important : recognize the efforts made by the government of

Ghana to lead this unique public-private partnership, and to commit

to strengthening transparency in their Atlantic fisheries.

Important role of the Government of Ghana

Ghana’s Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Sherry

Ayittey, accompanied by the ISSF, WWF, and GoG EMS team, in order to

progress the implementation of EMS on board Ghanaian Tuna Purse

Seiners

Task Force

• First 5 vessels with new EMS equipment leave recently port.

• We are anxious to see the first results : The receipt by the

Government of Ghana of timely and robust data, will facilitate

compliance with ICCAT, and, most importantly, will help to

develop more effective fisheries management.

• With this information, and more regular dialogue with all regional

stakeholders, the data being used in management, enforcement

and policymaking will be uniform and the best available.

• Results of EMS trials should be evaluated & compared to

Human observer data for validation.

Where we are?

What Next?! Other Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project

activities

The Project will hold a CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP

on Implementation of Precautionary Approach via

Management Procedures

The workshop will be organised early in 2016 probably in

Africa for Atlantic coastal countries

This activity is part of Component 1 of the Common

Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project on strengthening governance

What Next?! Other Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project

activities

The workshop program will include :

• Discussion of the Management Procedures framework as

implemented in ICCAT and

• Provide the platform and background skills for participation

in the ICCAT’s regional level Management Strategy

Evaluation work.

• Empower coastal states to engage meaningfully in the

developments that are occurring with tuna management in

the Atlantic Ocean.

What Next?! Other Common Oceans/ABNJ Tuna Project

activities

ATLAFCO members are welcomed to participate and

contribute actively to this workshop.

To better understand how

HARVEST CONTROL RULES (HCRs)

contribute to a

Sustainable Tuna Management

MERCI and SEE YOU SOON