Featured News
ISSF Annual Report Highlights Gains in Tuna Fisheries — and the Science and Collaboration Behind Them
ISSF has released its 2025 annual report, Science Driving Measurable Progress, highlighting how sustained, science-based collaboration is delivering measurable progress in tuna fisheries worldwide.
The report shows continued improvements in key indicators of sustainability. Today, 97% of the global tuna catch comes from stocks at healthy abundance levels, and almost 100% from stocks not experiencing overfishing — a significant increase over the past decade. At the same time, ISSF participating companies achieved a 99.62% conformance rate with conservation measures—independently audited and publicly reported — demonstrating strong implementation of science-based practices across the supply chain.
From advancing ecosystem-based fisheries management and improving fishing practices, to strengthening RFMO policies and expanding transparency tools like the ProActive Vessel Register (PVR) and Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI), ISSF continues to bridge science, industry action, and policy outcomes.
As ISSF President Susan Jackson notes in the report, the organization’s role is to connect “what science reveals, what fleets practice, what regulators require, and what the market expects” — ensuring that progress is both credible and sustained.
Read Science Driving Measurable Progress
Featured Content
From Research to Real-World Application: Updated Skippers’ Guidebook to Sustainable Fishing Practices
ISSF recently released the fourth edition of its Skippers’ Guidebook to Sustainable Purse Seine Fishing Practices — a comprehensive and practical resource that shares up-to-date ISSF recommendations on the steps fishers can take to mitigate bycatch and protect non-target species and marine ecosystems.
“The guidebook is the result of years of hands-on research and collaboration,” said Dr. Victor Restrepo, ISSF Vice President of Science and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee. “It draws on at-sea trials of bycatch mitigation techniques, testing of non-entangling, biodegradable fish aggregating devices, input from research institutes and environmental non-governmental organizations, and direct feedback from skippers through ISSF workshops. By bringing together science and real-world experience, we are equipping tuna fishers with practical tools they can use every day to reduce impacts and continuously improve the sustainability of their fisheries.”
The new edition is available at issfguidebooks.org in Webpage format in English and as downloadable PDFs in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, ensuring broad accessibility across global tuna-fishing regions.
ICYMI
2026 IOTC Position Statement
ISSF released its 2026 position statement for the upcoming Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting, outlining science-based priorities to strengthen fisheries management, compliance, and transparency.
Read the Full Position Statement
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ISSF: Informe sobre el estado mundial de las poblaciones de atunes
Victor Restrepo, ISSF Vice President, Science, is interviewed by Azul Sostenible TV.
