Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Public Certification Report SATHOAN French Mediterranean Bluefin tuna artisanal longline and handline fishery On behalf of CM des pêcheurs de Sète Môle – OP SATHOAN Prepared by Control Union UK Ltd October 2020 Authors: Chrissie Sieben Jo Gascoigne Sophie des Clers Control Union UK Ltd 56 High Street, Lymington Hampshire SO41 9AH United Kingdom Tel: 01590 613007 Fax: 01590 671573 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://uk.controlunion.com Contents CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 1 QA FR ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................................................. 4 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 7 2 AUTHORSHIP AND PEER REVIEWERS ..................................................................................................... 11 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY .............................................................................................................. 13 3.1 Unit(s) of Assessment (UoA) and Scope of Certification Sought .......................................... 13 3.1.1 UoA and Proposed Unit of Certification (UoC) ............................................................................... 13 3.1.2 Final UoC(s) ..................................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.3 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data .................................................................................. 14 3.1.4 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Enhanced Fisheries ................................................................ 14 3.1.5 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Introduced Species Based Fisheries (ISBF) ............................. 15 3.2 Overview of the fishery ......................................................................................................... 15 3.2.1 History of the fishery and its management .................................................................................... 15 3.2.2 The Client fishery ............................................................................................................................ 15 3.2.3 Gear and operation of the fishery .................................................................................................. 19 3.2.4 Fishing areas and seasons ............................................................................................................... 21 3.3 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Biology ............................................................................................................................................ 23 3.3.2 Stock Definition ............................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.3 Reference points ............................................................................................................................. 25 3.3.4 Recruitment .................................................................................................................................... 25 3.3.5 Stock status ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.6 Stock status projections .................................................................................................................. 29 3.3.7 Stock status summary of different models ..................................................................................... 30 3.3.8 Harvest strategy and control rule ................................................................................................... 31 3.3.9 Bluefin MSE process........................................................................................................................ 34 3.3.10 Information and monitoring ....................................................................................................... 34 3.3.11 Stock assessment ....................................................................................................................... 37 3.3.12 Lower Trophic Level (LTL) species .............................................................................................. 38 3.4 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................................. 39 3.4.1 Designation of species under Principle 2 ........................................................................................ 39 3.4.2 Data availability .............................................................................................................................. 40 3.4.3 Bait use ........................................................................................................................................... 43 3.4.4 Primary and Secondary species ...................................................................................................... 43 3.4.5 ETP species ...................................................................................................................................... 48 3.4.6 Habitats ........................................................................................................................................... 53 3.4.7 Ecosystem ....................................................................................................................................... 54 3.5 Principle Three: Management System Background .............................................................. 56 3.5.1 Jurisdictions and legal framework .................................................................................................. 56 3.5.2 Consultation, Roles and Responsibilities, Dispute resolution, Respects for rights ......................... 67 3.5.3 Long-term objectives ...................................................................................................................... 69 3.5.4 Fishery-specific objectives .............................................................................................................. 72 3288R06C CU MSC Full Assessment Reporting Template FCR v2.0 (8th October 2014) 1 3.5.5 Fishery-specific decision-making processes ................................................................................... 73 3.5.6 Fishery-specific compliance and enforcement ............................................................................... 74 3.5.7 Fishery-specific monitoring and management performance evaluation........................................ 77 4 EVALUATION PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................... 79 4.1 Harmonised Fishery Assessment .......................................................................................... 79 4.2 Previous assessments ........................................................................................................... 79 4.3 Assessment Methodologies .................................................................................................. 79 4.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques .................................................................................. 79 4.4.1 Site Visits and consultations ........................................................................................................... 79 4.4.2 Evaluation Techniques .................................................................................................................... 81 5 TRACEABILITY .................................................................................................................................... 85 5.1 Eligibility Date ....................................................................................................................... 85 5.2 Traceability within the Fishery .............................................................................................. 85 5.3 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ....................................................................... 88 5.4 Eligibility of Inseparable or Practicably Inseparable (IPI) stock(s) to Enter Further Chains of Custody ............................................................................................................................................. 88 6 EVALUATION RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 89 6.1 Principle Level Scores ............................................................................................................ 89 6.2 Summary of PI Level Scores .................................................................................................. 89 6.3 Summary of Conditions ......................................................................................................... 90 6.4 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 91 6.5 Determination, Formal