CMM 2019-02 03

CCMs shall take measures necessary to ensure that all catches of Pacific Bluefin tuna 30kg or larger shall not be increased from the 2002-2004 annual average levels. Any overage or underage of the catch limit shall be deducted from or may be added to the catch limit for the
following year. The maximum underage that a CCM may carry over in any given year shall not exceed 5% of its annual initial catch limit (footnote 2,3). However, in 2018, 2019, and 2020 CCMs may use part of the catch limit for Pacific bluefin tuna smaller than 30 kg stipulated in paragraph 2 (2) above to catch Pacific bluefin tuna 30 kg or larger in the same year. In this case, the amount of catch 30 kg or larger shall be counted against the catch limit for Pacific bluefin tuna smaller than 30 kg. CCMs shall not use the catch limit for Pacific bluefin tuna 30 kg or larger to catch Pacific bluefin tuna smaller than 30 kg. The ISC is requested to review, in its work referred to in Section 5 of Harvest
Strategy, the implications of this special provision in terms of PBF mortality and stock rebuilding probabilities in 2020. Based on that review, in 2020 the Northern Committee will determine whether it should be continued past 2020, and  if  so,  recommend  changes  to  the  CMM as appropriate. footnote 2:-  CCMs with a base line catch of 10 t or less may increase its catch as long as it does not exceed 10 t.  footnote 3:-  300 tons of the catch limit of Pacific bluefin tuna 30kg or larger of Chinese Taipei may be transferred to Japan in 2020, subject to a notification by Chinese Taipei to the Secretariat. This transfer may apply for 2020 only.  Adoption of this transfer does not confer the allocation of a right, and does not prejudice any future decision of the Commission.  4 All CCMs except Japan shall implement the limits in paragraph 2 and 3 on a calendar-year basis. Japan shall implement the limits using a management year other than the calendar year for some of its fisheries and have its implementation assessed with respect to its management year. To facilitate the assessment, Japan shall:
a. Use the following management years:
1. For its fisheries licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, use the calendar year as the management year.
2. For its other fisheries, use 1 April – 31 March as the management year.**b. In its annual reports for PBF, for each category described in a.1 and a.2 above, complete the required reporting template for both the management year and calendar year clearly identifying fisheries for each management year.
** footnote 4: For the category described a.2, the TCC shall assess in year 20XX its implementation during the management year that starts 1 April 20XX-1 (e.g., in the 2020 compliance review, the TCC will assess Japan’s implementation for its fisheries licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries during calendar-year 2019 and for its other fisheries during 1 April 2019 through 31 March 2020).