CCSBT Catch Documentation Scheme Instruction Sheets: Information for Fishers
The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) is the regional fisheries management organisation responsible for the sustainable use of southern bluefin tuna. CCSBT adopted a finalised Catch Documentation Scheme in October 2009.
| Catch documentation generally refers to schemes that certify catch at or before the point of landing (e.g. verifying its origin, weight and species composition, as well as whether it was taken legally). This is usually in conjunction with trade documents that track the trade cycle of fish, and prohibit the entry of uncertified fish into the world market. Such schemes are generally put in place for high value products, where there is a risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. |
Key objectives of the Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) for southern bluefin tuna are:
- To gain better information on total global catches of southern bluefin tuna, including fish that is exported as well as fish that is sold domestically;
- To provide a source of cross-checks for reported catch information (i.e. independent reports from exporters and importers, or from domestic sellers and domestic buyers);
- To help prevent illegally-caught fish from entering the market (because each individual whole fish will have a unique tag attached to it; CCSBT member countries and other participating states will not accept a whole fish into the market unless it has a valid tag);
- To collect additional scientific information to help with management of the stock.
Key features of the CDS:
- The CDS covers ALL catches of southern bluefin tuna by members and cooperating non-members of CCSBT – i.e. New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Africa, European Union and the Philippines (the main countries fishing for southern bluefin);
- The scheme applies to ALL commercially-caught southern bluefin tuna, including:
- all exports of southern bluefin tuna; and
- all southern bluefin tuna sold to domestic buyers
- The CDS has two main components –
- Tagging – every legally-caught southern bluefin tuna is tagged with a special tag; controls in the market place ensure that only legally-caught fish can be sold. Fishers are responsible for ensuring they have tagged all southern bluefin tuna they catch, with tags supplied by the Ministry of Fisheries.
- Catch documents: a form that is filled out when the fish is caught, and includes information on volumes exported, imported, and sold on domestic markets. In most instances Licensed Fish Receivers are responsible for filling out catch documents.
- There are two main forms – a Catch Monitoring Form and a Catch Tagging Form (a new form that collects information on individual fish, including lengths and weights).
For fishers, your role under the scheme includes:
- For each southern bluefin tuna that you catch and retain (i.e. all fish except those released under the 6th Schedule), you are required to attach a CCSBT tag. The Ministry of Fisheries will issue you with new tags each calendar year.
- The tag is an essential component of the CDS. Without this tag, southern bluefin tuna will no longer be accepted into markets of member states. Additional instructions for applying the tag are provided below.
- Note that the CDS applies only to SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA. It is critical that the fish are identified correctly. For example, if a fish identified as a bigeye tuna is sent to Japan and Japanese officials identify it is a southern bluefin tuna, there may well be a problem getting the fish into the market, since it will not have the required tag or form. Please note also that Japan has a genetic testing programme in place for tuna imports.
- Catch Tagging Forms record information about the tagged fish. This is an important part of the scheme, because it collects information about individual fish, to help with management of the fishery (please note domestic catch reporting requirements will stay the same). Catch Tagging Forms:
- Will record information about each individual southern bluefin tuna caught, including:
- The tag number
- When the fish was caught
- The vessel that caught the fish
- The length and weight of each fish
- Catch Monitoring Forms have replaced the form previously used for the Trade Information Scheme. The form looks different, but the information it collects is basically the same. In general, Licensed Fish Receivers are responsible for filling out this form. As for the Trade Information Scheme, this form will need to be validated by an Authorised Validator who has, amongst other things, been approved by the Ministry of Fisheries.
Download example catch monitoring form (PDF 352KB)
Download example catch tagging form (PDF 1.7MB)
Applying the southern bluefin tuna tag
Below are some instructions supplied by the manufacturer of the tag. In the example given, the tags are being applied to a fish that will be frozen. When applying to fresh fish, because the fish are processed differently you might need to apply the tag slightly differently from what is shown here. The important thing is to apply the tag so that it will remain fastened to the fish, and so the tag information (i.e. tag number) can be easily read.
The tags will be different colours each year, to allow for ready identification in the market-place. The tag used in 2010 was beige; in 2011 the tag will be green.
Questions? Contact the Highly Migratory Species team in the Auckland office of the Ministry of Fisheries, (09) 820 1990