Purse-seine fisheries
Article 33
1. The fishing by purse-seine vessels for yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ) and skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ) shall be prohibited: (a) from 29 July to 28 September 2016 or from 18 November 2016 to 18 January 2017 in the area defined by the following limits: — the Pacific coastlines of the Americas, — longitude 150° W, — latitude 40° N, — latitude 40° S; (b) from 29 September to 29 October 2016 in the area defined by the following limits: — longitude 96° W, — longitude 110° W, — latitude 4° N, — latitude 3° S. 2. The Member States concerned shall notify the Commission of the selected period of closure referred to in paragraph 1 before 1 April 2016. All the purse-seine vessels of the Member States concerned shall stop purse-seine fishing in the areas defined in paragraph 1 during the selected period. 3. Purse-seine vessels fishing for tuna in the IATTC Convention Area shall retain on board and then land or tranship all yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna caught. 4. Paragraph 3 shall not apply in the following cases: (a) where the fish is considered unfit for human consumption for reasons other than size; or (b) during the final set of a trip when there may be insufficient well space remaining to accommodate all the tuna caught in that set.