Yellowfin tuna stock is the focus of discussion as Seychelles hosts the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission’s (IOTC) 20th session of the Working Party on Tropical Tuna from October 29 to November 3.
The session is part of a series of meetings organised by the commission’s secretariat every year where scientists of member countries along with international experts analyse and discuss the latest information on tuna species. The 115-island in the western Indian Ocean is welcoming over 40 scientists from more than 20 countries this year.
The chief fisheries officer at the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA), Vincent Lucas, said that a new stock assessment will be undertaken during the meeting after consulting all new data that are available, particularly catch and effort data for 2016.
“Some preliminary assessments have been conducted which will be reviewed during the one-week meeting and a final assessment will be undertaken after agreeing on the model and data to be used for the assessment,” continued Lucas.
