Fiji, Dec. 5 -- The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is heading into a final phase on bigeye tuna, with scientists warning that major choices must be made this week to keep the region's harvest strategy work on track.

A detailed paper from the Pacific Community's Oceanic Fisheries Programme (SPC-OFP) laid out the critical decisions WCPFC22 must take to advance a Management Procedure (MP) for bigeye tuna - a commitment the Commission is expected to deliver by 2026.

The paper summarises several years of technical work and stresses that the Commission now needs to provide "further input. to guide future work." It highlights six areas where WCPFC22 must make clear decisions, including the target reference point, FAD ...