Indian Ocean states agreed Monday to temporarily halt the use of industrial fishing gear that is drastically depleting tuna stocks in a win for oceanside states that rely on smaller-scale fishing methods to prop up the livelihoods of communities across coastal regions.
The decision comes after three days of turbulent negotiations at the meeting of the 30-member Indian Ocean Tuna Commission in Mombasa, Kenya, where developing nations were at odds with the European Union, whose member states rely more heavily on purse seiners and long liners which are more destructive to the marine environment.
