Saving Seafood

IOTC commits to reducing yellowfin tuna catch over time, advances monitoring measures

May 21, 2026 — The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has reached a consensus measure on yellowfin tuna and agreed to establish a voluntary vessel monitoring system pilot program at its 30th annual meeting.

The IOTC met from 11 to 15 May in Male, Maldives, and advanced a number of different proposals including an agreement on a yellowfin tuna management framework that commits to reduce catches over time. It also continued to fund a management strategy evaluation for both yellowfin and for albacore tuna.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

IOTC kicks off 30th annual meeting; ISSF pushing for more momentum on management procedures

May 11, 2026 — The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is hosting its 30th annual meeting from 11 to 15 May in Male, Maldives, and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation is pushing for more progress on fish aggregating devices (FADs) and harvest strategies. 

McLean, Virginia, U.S.A.-based tuna conservation nonprofit ISSF told SeafoodSource it is hoping the IOTC will use this year’s meeting to build upon the tangible progress it has made over the past few years, which has come in the form of new management measures for FADs, the establishment of management procedures for skipjack and bigeye tuna, steps to improve member adherence to the Port State Measures Agreement, shark retention bans, and more.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

IOTC adopts rules for FADs, but Indian Ocean yellowfin still facing overfishing

May 22, 2024 — The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) recently concluded its 28th session, with the commission adding new measures to the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) but, once again, failing to adopt any improvements to curtail yellowfin tuna fishing.

The meeting – which ran from 13 to 17 May in Bangkok, Thailand – resulted in the IOTC adopting a new management measure for FADs covering a number of different best practices. NGOs like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the World Wide Fund for Nature have called for more rules regarding the devices, especially after the commission failed to reach any agreement on drifting FADs (dFADs) in 2023.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource