SPC Oceanic Fisheries: Tuna statistics, tuna ecology & biology, stock assessement, modelling, standing committee on tuna and billfish

The Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP), formerly known as the Tuna and Billfish Assessment Programme (TBAP) was established by the 1980 South Pacific Conference to continue the work initiated by its predecessor project, the Skipjack Survey and Assessment Programme (SSAP). The ongoing expenses of the Programme are currently funded by extra-budgetary contributions from Australia, France, and New Zealand, and, as of 1997, a contribution from the SPC core budget for one position. Funding for specific projects during the past five years has also been received from the European Union (EU), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the University of Hawaii Pelagic Fisheries Research Program (PFRP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Republic of Korea and the Government of Taiwan. The OFP extends its appreciation to all of these governments and organisations for their valued support.

The OFP mission, as drafted by the Fourth Standing Committee on Tuna and Billfish (SCTB) and endorsed by the Twenty-third Regional Technical Meeting on Fisheries, is "to provide member countries with the scientific information and advice necessary to rationally manage fisheries exploiting the region's resources of tuna, billfish and related species". The structure of the OFP recommended at the Fourth SCTB, i.e. Statistics and Monitoring, Biological Research, Stock Assessement and Modelling, Reporting and Liaison, has since been modified to better reflect changing work activities and priorities. The OFP functions as three sections, each headed by a principal-level officer : Statistics and Monitoring, Tuna Ecology and Biology, Stock Assessment and Modelling, with common functions (reporting and liaison, information technology / computer support) supported by a small administrative section.

Statistics and monitoring has been a core activity of the OFP since its inception in 1981. In the early 1980s, the main priority of the OFP was the establishment of a regional catch and effort database based primarily on catch and effort logsheets provided to SPC by member countries and territories. [more]

The Tuna Ecology and Biology (TEB) section of the OFP undertakes analyses to understand the biological parameters and the environmental processes that influence the productivity of tuna and billfish populations and that are fundamental for stocks assessment and modelling. [more]

Stock assessment and population modelling continue to be major components of the OFP’s work, culminating in scientific advice on the status of the stocks that is provided regularly at both national and regional levels. [more]