Our “snapshots” identify best practices that Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) should follow to manage tuna fisheries sustainably.

In detailed tables, the snapshots compare tuna RFMO progress in implementing the practices.

For a high-level comparison across the five RFMOs, see our Tuna RFMO Best Practice Performance “scorecard” below. We also publish companion “best-practices reports” on these topics and “RFMO progress” infographics.

ISSF 2022-12: Survey of the Treatment of Support/Supply/Tender Vessels in Tuna RFMOs*

Date Added: May 19, 2022
Authors: Holly Koehler, Dr. Gala Moreno
Downloaded: 95 times
Tags: Best Practices, CCSBT, FADs, IATTC, ICCAT, IOTC, RFMOs, Supply Vessel, WCPFC
Language: English
Featured: True
Report Type: Technical Report

Description

The use of man-made floating objects, also known as drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs), by purse-seine vessels has increased in all oceans. In addition, purse-seine vessels often utilize other vessels – called supply, support, auxiliary or tender vessels – to deploy dFADs and service them.  The use of such vessels and recent technological advances have made purse-seine fishing with dFADs increasingly efficient and has contributed to effort creep.

At present, three of the four tropical tuna RFMOs allow the use of these vessels in the tuna purse-seine fishery. The degree to which the use of support vessels is regulated, monitored, or to which data are collected on these vessels’ activities, including the deployment of FADs, varies. This technical report surveys how support vessels are currently treated in tuna RFMOs and identifies a set of best practice recommendations.

See also our RFMO Best Practices Snapshot on treatment of support/supply/tender vessels.