HIGHLIGHTS
January-March April-June July-September October-December
JULY
Pole & Line Guidebook
ISSF and the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) created the first guidebook for pole-and-line fishers, who catch about 8% of the world’s tuna. The guidebook introduces fishers to ISSF’s and IPNLF’s work and examines sustainability challenges in pole-and-line fisheries — bycatch, fuel usage, and baitfish management. It also covers target tuna species, fishing operations, and catch-related issues.
The Pole-and-Line Skippers Guidebook is located on ISSF’s guidebooks site, which also offers resources for fishers and observers working in purse-seine and longline tuna fisheries.
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AUGUST
Best Practices for FAD Management Report
Reflecting findings and recommendations from dozens of scientists and several NGOs, ISSF’s Dr. Gala Moreno, Dr. Hilario Murua, Holly Koehler, and Dr. Victor Restrepo co-authored a comprehensive new report detailing six actions that purse-seine tuna fishers should take to more sustainably manage their fish aggregating devices (FADs), a top concern for Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
ISSF 2019-11: Recommended Best Practices for FAD Management in Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries outlines how and why fleets — including in fishery improvement projects — can better fulfill data reporting requirements, limit FAD numbers and FAD sets, reduce ghost fishing, improve FAD recovery, and avoid silky shark bycatch, for example. FAD management best practices can help to reduce overfishing and protect sensitive marine species and environments, among other benefits.
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Read the ISSF technical report Download a related FAD use infographic
SEPTEMBER
ISSF Guide to Non-Entangling and Biodegradable FADs
Drawing on years of ISSF scientific research and skippers workshops insights and collaboration, ISSF created an updated version of the Non-Entangling FADs Guide first published in 2012.
The 2019 edition of the guide includes detailed illustrations showing tuna fishers how to construct fish aggregating device (FAD) raft and tail structures that are not only non-entangling — to avoid ensnaring marine animals like sharks and sea turtles — but also made with biodegradable materials, which reduces marine pollution. For reference, the guide also outlines tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO) requirements on non-entangling FADs for fleets in their regions.
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Read our press release about the guide Download the guide in nine languages