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June 29, 2023

It's International Fisherman's Day

This year on International Fisherman’s Day, ISSF recognizes the vital role fishers play in our collective efforts for more sustainable tuna fisheries.   

Today's e-newsletter highlights ISSF’s work with fishers and vessels, as well as scientists, seafood companies, and conservationists, in helping to reduce the impact of tuna fishing on the marine ecosystem.

Improving sustainable practices in tuna purse seine fish aggregating device (FAD) fisheries worldwide through continued collaboration with fishers

More than a decade of bottom-up collaborative workshops and research with fishers from the principal tropical tuna purse seine fleets to reduce ecological impacts associated with the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) has yielded improved sustainable fishing practices in all oceans. This integrative effort is founded on participatory knowledge-exchange workshops organized by ISSF, where scientists, fishers, and key stakeholders examine and together develop methods and tools to minimize fishery impacts.

More Articles from ISSF and Partners

ISSF Conservation Measure 3.4 - Skipper Best Practices

According to the 2023 ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, ISSF Participating Companies achieved 100% conformance with ISSF Conservation Measure 3.4 - Skipper Best Practices. 

The measure requires companies to conduct transactions only with those purse seine and longline vessels whose skippers have:

• attended an in-person and/or online ISSF Skippers Workshop; or
• attended an in-person Skippers Workshop provided by a tuna FIP and conducted by a trainer that has been accredited by ISSF to conduct these workshops; or
• viewed an ISSF Skippers Workshop video online; or
• reviewed the online Skippers Guidebook.

Verified Public Vessel Lists 

To promote transparency in tuna fishing, ISSF works with regional organizations and data sources to provide information about fishing vessels and their practices. We maintain searchable public tuna vessel lists for sustainable fishing stakeholders.

The ProActive Vessel Register (PVR) is one of four ISSF public vessel lists. Vessels that join the PVR commit to provide regular information about specific activities, including best practices linked to ISSF conservation measures. This information is displayed on the PVR, showing facts about each vessel, and — based on independent audit results — whether the vessel is following these best practices for more sustainable fishing. For example, having a shark-finning prohibition policy and using non-entangling fish aggregating devices (FADs) is a best practice.

Like the PVR, ISSF’s Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI) list is a transparency tool for stakeholders that want to understand which tuna vessels have made public commitments to more sustainable fishing beyond those commitments tracked on the PVR.

Working with Fishers to Improve Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) Design

We're working with fishers, scientists, and industry to find the best non-entangling designs and natural materials for fish aggregating devices (FADs) that can biodegrade. A video featuring ISSF fisheries scientist Dr. Gala Moreno offers a behind-the-scenes look at the workshops that are part of this ongoing effort.