Competence: Area & Species

IOTC Area of Competence

Definition of the IOTC area of competence:

IOTC Agreement: Article II. AREA OF COMPETENCE

• "The area of competence of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Area”) shall be the Indian Ocean (defined for the purpose of this Agreement as being FAO statistical areas 51 and 57 as shown on the map set out in Annex A to this Agreement) and adjacent seas, north of the Antarctic Convergence, insofar as it is necessary to cover such seas for the purpose of conserving and managing stocks that migrate into or out of the Indian Ocean."
• Note: The Commission, at its 4th Session in 1999 agreed to modify the western boundary of the IOTC area of competence from 30^oE to 20^oE, thus eliminating the gap between the areas covered by IOTC and ICCAT.

Species under the IOTC management mandate

The species listed below are under the management mandate of IOTC. In addition, the Commission’s Secretariat collates data on non-target, associated and dependent species affected by tuna fishing operations, i.e. marine turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, sharks and fish species caught incidentally (bycatch).