Reporting WCPFC SC status and management advice: findings and recommendations from WCPFC project 113b

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. A critical component of this responsibility is the accurate and consistent reporting of stock status and management advice based on scientific assessments. The present study, conducted as part of Project 113b, aimed to develop recommendations for a more standardized approach to reporting stock status and management advice from stock assessments, as recommended by the review conducted as part of Project 113 and presented to SC19.

The research involved a survey of 17 participants (15 managers and 2 scientists) to gather insights on the effectiveness of current reporting methods and preferences for future improvements. Additionally, the study examined best practices from other jurisdictions and scientific literature, particularly drawing inspiration from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for reporting uncertainty.

The importance of this work lies in its potential to enhance the WCPFC’s ability to implement precautionary approaches to fisheries management, as mandated by the WCPFC convention. By improving the consistency and clarity of stock status reports and management advice, the Commission can make more informed decisions and better track changes in stock status over time.

Key findings from the survey and analysis include:

• Current reporting of stock status and management advice lacks consistency across different fish stocks, making comparisons and trend analysis challenging.
• While the detail and clarity of current reports are generally considered sufficient, the reporting of uncertainty is not consistently adequate across all assessments.
• Uncertainty is recognized as an important aspect of stock assessments, both for stocks with and without explicit management strategies.
• The communication of uncertainty and its consideration in management decisions could be improved to better support the application of the precautionary principle.
• There is a need for a more structured and standardized approach to reporting, including consistent terminology and formatting across different stock assessments.

Based on these findings and a review of best practices, the study proposes several key recommendations to improve the reporting of stock status and management advice:

Key recommendations:

1. Rename report sections for clarity: ”Stock Assessment and Trends” and ”Stock Status and Management Advice”.

2. Implement consistent section content structures for both renamed sections, including specific elements like assessment structure, uncertainties, catch estimates, and management quantities.

3. Use consistent language for describing uncertainty:

• Apply a 3-level confidence scale (high, medium, low) in the ”Stock Assessment and Trends” section, where confidence relates to the assessment’s ability to capture key uncertainties.
• Use IPCC likelihood categories with corresponding probability statements in the ”Stock Status and Management Advice” section.

4. Tabulate main sources of uncertainty in the assessment, including rationale, impact, and confidence level.

5. Provide a standardized stock status table in the ”Stock Status and Management Advice” section, including probability statements and likelihood categories for key status indicators.

By implementing these recommendations, the WCPFC can enhance the transparency, consistency, and comparability of stock assessments across different tuna and associated stocks, and over time. This improved reporting framework will facilitate more informed decision-making by the Commission and support the sustainable management of tuna and associated stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.