Saving Seafood

IATTC adopts electronic monitoring standards, improvements to compliance processes

September 12 2024 —  The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission has established new minimum standards for electronic monitoring on fishing vessels in a move that sustainability-focused NGOs are celebrating as a win.

The commission met for its annual meeting from 2 to 6 September amid calls for increased vessel monitoring from NGOs including Pew and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation. Those calls were in part heeded, as the commission adopted new minimum standards for electronic vessel monitoring for the Eastern Pacific high seas fishing fleet.

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Thailand’s proposed rollback of fisheries reforms worries NGOs

November 21, 2023 — Thailand has proposed a reversal of a series of fisheries reforms it implemented over the past eight years.

The move has ignited concern among NGOs and international representatives who fear the lawlessness and lack of oversight that once defined the country’s fishing sector may return. In a letter issued in October 2023, a coalition of 84 civil society organizations, including the Environmental Justice Foundation, Greenpeace, Conservation International, Oxfam, and Oceana collectively urged Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to oppose any rollback.

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NGOs urge action at ICCAT annual meeting

November 15, 2022 — The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is holding its annual meeting 14 to 21 November in a hybrid format, both virtually and in person in Vale do Lobo, Portugal.

In the run-up to the meeting, the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) separately published position statements, detailing their requests to the regional fishery management organization. IPNLF promotes sustainable management of responsible pole-and-line, handline, and troll tuna fisheries while safeguarding the livelihoods they support. ISSF is a global coalition of seafood companies, fisheries experts, scientific and environmental organizations, and vessel operators that promotes science-based initiatives for long-term tuna conservation, fish-aggregating device (FAD) management, bycatch mitigation, marine ecosystem health, capacity management, and illegal fishing prevention.

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Make Stewardship Count Coalition raises concerns about new MSC standard

January 24, 2022 — The Make Stewardship Count Coalition is raising concerns that the latest draft of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards, being released on 1 February, 2022, will not improve the requirements for achieving its sustainable seafood certification.

The Make Stewardship Count Coalition consists of more than 90 NGOs, experts, organizations, and researchers with the collective aim of pushing for improvements to the MSC standard and certification. The coalition has released a set of scorecards that evaluated the multiyear process of the MSC fisheries standard review, which included a list of critical flaws in the seafood certification program. According to the scorecards, though MSC increased engagement opportunities during the review, the final stage of consultations lacks transparency.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource