Nagasaki, Japan, 14 July 2026. The 11th Joint IATTC–WCPFC Northern Committee Working Group on the Management of Pacific Bluefin Tuna (JWG11) and the Twenty-Second Regular Session of the Northern Committee (NC22) were held back-to-back in Nagasaki, Japan, in July 2026. JWG11 continued efforts to establish a long-term, Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE)-based approach for Pacific bluefin tuna, building on the stock’s successful recovery and several years of scientific and management work.
While considerable progress was made on elements of the proposed Management Procedure, members were unable to reach consensus, with outstanding issues including the balance of fishery impacts between the western and eastern Pacific, measures for small fish, and implementation arrangements. The JWG agreed to continue working intersessionally, with the aim of recommending a Management Procedure (MP) and implementing measures in 2027 for implementation in 2028.
The 22nd Regular Session of the Northern Committee (NC22) was held on 13–14 July 2026, considered the management of Pacific bluefin tuna alongside other important northern stocks. The Committee reviewed the new 2026 benchmark assessment for North Pacific albacore, which found the stock virtually certain to be neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, and continued discussions on how to implement the existing North Pacific albacore Harvest Strategy through an updated conservation and management measure.
NC22 also advanced development of an MSE for North Pacific swordfish, confirming the geographic scope for the work and endorsing the ISC recommendation to postpone the next benchmark assessment from 2028 to 2029 to provide sufficient time for MSE development and incorporation of new biological information.
Together, JWG11 and NC22 highlighted the continued transition toward harvest strategies and management procedures for key North Pacific stocks, supported by close collaboration among the WCPFC, IATTC, and ISC. The meetings also underscored the importance of continued scientific and management dialogue as work progresses on Pacific bluefin tuna, North Pacific albacore and North Pacific swordfish, with several issues to be taken forward intersessionally and through future meetings of the Northern Committee and the Commission.