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NGOs push ICCAT to continue progress on management procedures, overfishing after recent meeting

December 5, 2024 โ€” The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) made progress on harvest strategies and its management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the Atlantic Ocean, while NGOs are pushing for it to continue that progress going forward.

At its recent meeting from 11 to 18 November, ICCAT adopted a new management procedure for Atlantic swordfish and Atlantic skipjack, adding to the commissionโ€™s existing strategy for Atlantic bluefin, drawing praise from organizations like The Pew Charitable Trusts and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Online discussion highlights problems caused by drifting FADs

May 14, 2021 โ€” American consumers are familiar with the โ€œDolphin Safeโ€ label on their tuna cans, and they may soon be seeing โ€œFAD-freeโ€ labels, too.

The Blue Marine Foundation, a London-based NGO focused on marine conservation, hosted a free online interactive roundtable on โ€œFish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in Responsible Tuna Fisheriesโ€ on Thursday, 6 May.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF Sponsors Global Contest to Reward Marine Science Scholarsโ€™ Innovative Ideas for Sustainable Tuna Fishing

March 13, 2019 โ€” The following was published by The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Marine-science graduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in helping to pioneer the next generation of sustainable tuna fishing initiatives โ€” especially to reduce bycatch and protect ocean ecosystems โ€” are invited to submit their ideas to the first-ever International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Seafood Sustainability Contest.

The contest opens today to eligible individuals and teams worldwide, who have until midnight December 31, 2019, to submit online entries. Competition judges will announce one $45,000 Grand Prize winner and one $10,000 Runner-Up Prize winner on February 28, 2020. The Grand Prize includes a trip (airfare and travel expenses paid for) for the winning individual or team representative to attend a major tuna sustainability conference or event selected by ISSF with the potential to present the winning idea to diverse stakeholders. Watch a video about the contest.
Tuna species provide a critical source of food and nutrition, economic benefits, and employment opportunities throughout the globe. Tuna comprise a massive 5 percent of the total worldwide fish trade and help contribute to a value chain estimated to be worth $42 billion, making it among the worldโ€™s most valuable fish. Commercial tuna fishing, regardless of the fishing method, must be practiced and managed as sustainably as possible to prevent overfishing and to protect other marine species and ocean ecosystems that can be impacted by commercial fishing practices.
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Contest Launches 10th Anniversary Celebration
The ISSF Seafood Sustainability Contest inaugurates the commemoration of ISSFโ€™s first โ€œdecade of discoveryโ€ (2009-2019), which has been marked by productive partnerships with marine scientists, seafood companies, vessels, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), charitable foundations, retailers, and fellow NGOs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  โ€œTen years ago, ISSF formed out of a shared vision and commitment that more could be done โ€” and needed to be done โ€” for the protection and long-term sustainable use of tuna stocks,โ€ said ISSF President Susan Jackson. โ€œA great deal has been accomplished over that time period, and weโ€™re proud of the legacy weโ€™ve built as ambassadors for science and as collaborators with the diverse collection of NGOs, foundations, retailers, and fishers working in this space. Our tenth-anniversary Seafood Sustainability Contest will allow us to tap into a talented pool of up-and-coming marine science students. We canโ€™t wait to dive into their ideas, and are eager to support potential solutions that result from it.โ€                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  To complement and enrich ISSFโ€™s scientific program โ€” which encompasses at-sea research, skippers workshops, and technical reports, for example โ€” the Seafood Sustainability Contest seeks innovative proposals for achieving one or more of these goals in tropical tuna purse-seine fisheries that use Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), which harvest most of the worldโ€™s tuna
  • Reducing the bycatch and fishing mortality of sharks
  • Reducing the bycatch and fishing mortality of marine mammals
  • Maximizing the catch of skipjack tuna in FAD sets while minimizing the catch of yellowfin and bigeye tuna(Skipjack stocks are at healthier levels of abundance than yellowfin and bigeye stocks)
  • Reducing the impacts that lost FADs can have on ocean ecosystems and habitats, such as beaching and pollution
A panel of five judges composed of experts drawn from academia and the fishing industry will determine the winners based on the originality of the idea, conservation impact, impact on skipjack catches, the degree to which idea has been tested, the feasibility of industry-wide implementation, and cost-effectiveness.
Before preparing and submitting entries to the Contest, participants must read the official rules. (No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.)
                                                                                                                                                                                                         A Decade of Discovery
In 2009, acclaimed scientists, leaders in the industry, and environmental champions launched the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) based on shared concerns about the future of global tuna fisheries and a desire to do something about it โ€” together.
                                                                                                                                                                                                        ISSF has worked for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of global tuna fisheries through its three pillars of Science, Influence, and Verification:
                                                                                                                                                                                               ยท  Tuna Conservation: Through regular status of the Stocks Reports, ISSF creates a window into tuna-stock assessments on a global scale for management, science, and conservation interests.
                                                                                                                                                                                             ยท      Bycatch Mitigation: Through-sea research, ISSF-supported scientists uncover new lessons, develop ideas and solutions, and implement strategies and tactics for bycatch mitigation. ISSF develops and disseminates their discoveries and best practices through globalSkippers Workshops.
                                                                                                                                                                                                ยท      Seafood Company Compliance: ISSF evaluates participating company compliance with all ISSF Conservation Measures โ€“ including an emphasis on traceability from product to processing facility to fishery to vessel โ€“ and communicates those results publicly to promote transparency.
                                                                                                                                                                                         ยท      Advocacy: Along with NGO partners and other allies, ISSF regularly advocates for critical new RFMO measures to improve global conditions around IUU fishing, deployment of monitoring, control and surveillance technology, harvest control rules, increased observer coverage, and improved data collection.
                                                                                                                                                                                            ยท      ProActive Vessel Register: Through the ProActive Vessel Register(PVR), ISSF manages and updates a publicly accessible database of 1,000+ vessels, across all gear types, committed to transparency in their adherence to science-backed and auditable fishing practices.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ISSF launched a new 5-year Strategic Plan in 2018, which formalized support for fisheries improvement activities. Visit the Strategic Plan microsite to learn more.

Tuna investigation slams use of FADs in Indian Ocean

February 15, 2019 โ€” An investigation by French state television broadcaster France 2 into the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) to catch juvenile yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean, aimed to highlight the dark side of the industry to consumers.

Use of FADs has been widespread since the 1980s, but their use now sits at the center of global discussions on the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks and the ecological impact of tuna fisheries. An addition to being associated with the catch of juvenile tuna, FADs are linked to bycatch of vulnerable non-target species such as barracudas, sharks, and turtles, the modification of tuna habitat, damage to coastal habitats from lost and broken-up structures that end up on beaches, and interference with other maritime activities, France 2 reported.

FADs can be natural or artificial floating objects or rafts, which are often made from local materials such as wood, bamboo, pieces of net, twisted rope and floats. They can either be anchored in place or left untethered to drift on the ocean surface. GPS tags are used to facilitate location, and fishers use them as a highly-effective method of improving catch rates and reducing operating costs, as tuna are attracted to the debris.

According to the FAO, in spite of intensive research, the reason why fish are attracted to FADs remains a mystery, but it is possible that they are attracted to floating objects that provide a refuge from predators.

In the two-hour long documentary, entitled โ€œPeche industrielle: gros poissons en eaux troubles,โ€ (Industrial fishing: big fish in troubled waters), which was broadcast on Tuesday, 6 February, presenter Sophie le Gall told viewers that the long-term future of the fishery was under threat because many of the fish being caught are immature and have therefore not had the chance to reproduce.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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