Saving Seafood

ISSF calls on IOTC to enhance monitoring, management during next annual meeting

April 2, 2025 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is once again calling on the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to enhance monitoring of its fisheries and engage in science-based conservation of the tuna fisheries it manages.

The IOTC is holding its 29th annual meeting from 13 to 17 April, bringing together member nations of the regional fishery management organization (RFMO) to work on management of a range of tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean. The ISSF is calling on the RFMO to tackle a number of new initiatives, including establishing observer coverage of the fisheries through electronic monitoring, better bycatch mitigation and shark protection, and science-based management of the tuna stock.

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ISSF report finds more tuna stocks are sustainable

July 29, 2024 — A recently released report by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) found the number of tuna stocks meeting Marine Stewardship Council fisheries standards and avoiding overfishing has increased in 2024.

The report, “An Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria,” determined 11 of the 23 major commercial tuna stocks worldwide are sufficiently avoiding overfishing and maintaining target stock biomass levels to meet MSC standards. That is an increase from the seven fisheries that met the standard in the ISSF’s report from March 2023.

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ISSF report indicates little change in global tuna sustainability since March

November 15, 2023 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation’s (ISSF) latest “Status of the Stocks” report for global tuna fisheries found the sustainability of global tuna stocks has remained flat since its last report in March.

The latest report found that 85 percent of the world’s commercial tuna catch comes from stocks at “healthy” levels of abundance, the same amount the ISSF reported over six months ago. The level of tuna coming from overfished stocks also remained flat at 11 percent, and 4 percent of the catch is coming from stocks at an “intermediate” level of abundance.

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ISSF aims for full MSC certification from participating companies

April 11, 2023 — The newest strategic plan from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is keeping Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a central tenant as the organization advocates for more sustainable wild-caught seafood.

The ISSF Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, “Continuously Improving Global Tuna Fishery Sustainability,” was released 28 February, 2023. The plan highlights ISSF research, advocacy, and its approach to achieving tuna fishery sustainability in participating companies for the next five years, including full implementation of a plan for MSC certification.

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SSF report finds majority of tuna stocks don’t meet Marine Stewardship Council standard

April 2, 2023 — A new report by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has found that only eight of 23 major commercial tuna stocks avoid overfishing and maintain biomass targets when measured against Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards.

The report, “An Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria,” found that only Western Atlantic skipjack, North Atlantic albacore, South Atlantic albacore, Eastern Atlantic bluefin, Western Pacific skipjack, Eastern Pacific yellowfin, Eastern Pacific skipjack, and Indian Ocean skipjack achieve a passing score for “sustainable fish stocks” when measured against MSC criteria. According to ISSF, an increased number of stocks failed to meet the MSC standard because managing bodies failed to implement harvest-control rules within the past year.

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ISSF report finds more tuna at healthy stock levels, but others still overfished

March 11, 2023 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation released its latest Status of the Stocks Report, finding a higher percentage of the global tuna catch comes from stocks with a healthy level of abundance than in 2021 – but that the level coming from overfished stocks also increased.

The latest report found that of the global commercial tuna catch, 85 percent is sourced from stocks with “healthy” levels of abundance – an improvement over 2022 report, which found 80.5 percent was sourced from healthy stocks. That improvement is tempered somewhat by the 11 percent of tuna catch coming from overfished stocks, an increase from the 9.2 percent found in 2022.

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ISSF: Eastern Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries can’t wait for COVID to end before action is taken

August 23, 2021 — Eastern Pacific Ocean fisheries managers must ensure that effective management measures are promptly put in place for bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna stocks when the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) meets later this month, insists the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).

In 2020, the IATTC conducted new assessments of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, which found that while yellowfin remains healthy, there was a 53 percent probability that bigeye is overfished and a 50 percent probability that overfishing was occurring.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF adopts new measure to protect Indian Ocean yellowfin if IOTC fails to act

May 18, 2021 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has announced the adoption of a new conservation member for participating companies aimed at reducing the annual sourcing of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna.

Called ISSF Conservation Measure 1.3 IOTC Yellowfin Tuna Rebuilding, the measure will take effect if the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) doesn’t take action at its June 2021 meeting to safeguard the stock. The IOTC delayed any decision on the yellowfin stock in March, a move criticized by NGOs and seafood companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF Adopts New Conservation Measure Aimed at Rebuilding Yellowfin Tuna in the Indian Ocean

May 6, 2021 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) today announced a new ISSF conservation measure (CM) requiring its participating companies to reduce annual sourcing of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna. ISSF Conservation Measure 1.3 IOTC Yellowfin Tuna Rebuilding becomes effective in the event that the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) does not take action at its June 2021 annual meeting to effectively implement IOTC scientific committee advice on the reduction of yellowfin catch. The new measure is included in ISSF’s recently released IOTC position statement.

“For more than a year, ISSF and our partners have been urging IOTC to heed scientific advice and act to protect Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna. But the Commission has repeatedly failed to adopt effective measures to rebuild the yellowfin stock, including at its special meeting held in March 2021,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “ISSF and its participating companies are committed to the long term sustainable use of the valuable Indian Ocean tuna resources. We will take steps as needed—with scientific guidance in mind—when fisheries management falls short. And we will do so transparently through a well-established audit and compliance reporting process.”

The most recent advice from the IOTC Scientific Committee (SC) recommends a reduction in yellowfin tuna catches to less than 403,000 tonnes annually, which would represent, at a minimum, an 11% reduction from 2019 catches. ISSF CM 1.3 requires ISSF participating companies to reduce annual sourcing of Indian Ocean origin yellowfin by 11%, calculated with respect to the company’s average annual level of Indian Ocean yellowfin purchases from 2017-2019. The measure also requires companies to issue public statements on their company websites describing their commitment to and implementation of the measure. ISSF CM 1.3 will go into effect on July 31, 2021 if IOTC, once again, fails to adopt a measure to effectively implement the most recent IOTC SC advice at its annual meeting in June.

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to audit participating companies to assess their compliance with all ISSF conservation measures. MRAG Americas conducts independent auditing based on a public audit protocol.

IOTC Position Statement

ISSF has also included recommendations on the IOTC yellowfin rebuilding plan in its IOTC position statement for the June Commission meeting, which outlines these ‘asks’:

  1. Adopt without delay an effective rebuilding plan for yellowfin tuna which, if implemented effectively, would imply a reduction to a total catch between 350,000 and 403,000 tonnes.
  2. Address over-catches in contravention of Resolution 19/01.
  3. Urgently monitor and manage catches of skipjack to ensure catches in 2021 do not exceed the limit set by the adopted Harvest Control Rule.
  4. Accelerate the develop Management Procedures and agree on permanent Limit and Target Reference Points for tropical and temperate tunas, particularly yellowfin, by 2022.
  5. Request the Scientific Committee to provide science-based limits on FAD deployments and/or FAD sets; develop in 2021 and adopt, by 2022, FAD marking guidelines and FAD tracking and recovery policies; and require the use of biodegradable materials in the construction of FADs and establish a timeline for transitioning to 100% biodegradable.
  6. Establish the Working Group on Electronic Monitoring (EM) and develop EM program minimum standards by 2022. Require 100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment, by 2024.

The complete ISSF IOTC position statement is available online: https://iss-foundation.org/what-we-do/influence/position-statements/download-info/2021-iotc-position-statement-for-june-2021-meeting/

About ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance Process

Since its inception in 2009, ISSF has adopted conservation measures and commitments to facilitate this mission with the intent that processors, traders, marketers and others involved in the seafood industry will follow them to facilitate real and continuous improvement across global tuna stocks. Each ISSF participating company commits to conform to these conservation measures to improve the long-term health of tuna fisheries. They also must adhere to the ISSA Compliance Policy.

ISSF participating tuna companies, which represent the majority of the world’s canned-tuna production and include well-known brand names, are audited yearly by MRAG Americas on their compliance with ISSF conservation measures.

ISSF recently released its ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which ISSF published in coordination with its recent annual report Staying the Course. In addition to a summary report, MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that detail each organization’s compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures. ISSF publishes these individual company compliance reports on its website.

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF)

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) — a global coalition of seafood companies, fisheries experts, scientific and environmental organizations, and the vessel community — promotes science-based initiatives for long-term tuna conservation, FAD management, bycatch mitigation, marine ecosystem health, capacity management, and illegal fishing prevention. Helping global tuna fisheries meet sustainability criteria to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council certification standard — without conditions — is ISSF’s ultimate objective. To learn more, visit iss-foundation.org, and follow ISSF on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.