Featured Content
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission is the first Regional Fisheries Management Organization to Adopt Electronic Monitoring Standards
By adopting electronic monitoring standards for its fisheries, the IOTC has set an example for other RFMOs to follow. Their action will hopefully inspire more countries and organizations to embrace innovative technologies to independently monitor fisheries and help safeguard our oceans and marine resources for future generations.
In a guest article for EM4Fish, ISSF’s Dr. Hilario Murua reflects on an important step forward in promoting responsible and data-driven fisheries management in the Indian Ocean.
Featured Graphic
Minimum Standards for Vessel Electronic Monitoring Systems
An infographic shows how purse-seine vessels should configure and operate their electronic monitoring systems (EMS), indicating which features and processes should be in place before, during, and after the fishing trip.
Featured Resource
EMS on the Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI) List
Like the ProActive Vessel Register (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 the commitments on the PVR.
VOSI tracks how vessels are participating in voluntary initiatives and is verified through a third-party audit process by MRAG Americas. Columns on VOSI now include electronic monitoring systems, in addition to showing if a vessel is:
- On the ISSF PVR and Record of Large Scale Purse Seine Vessels
- Using only fully non-entangling FADs (with no netting)
- Providing FAD echosounder biomass data
- Participating in a FIP, and/or
- Participating in a MSC certified fishery
EMS must meet the minimum system standards outlined in ISSF Technical Report 2022-09. ISSF offers electronic monitoring vendors and FAD data submission information, available on the ISSF site.
If your vessel is participating in any of these initiatives, you are encouraged to apply for listing on the VOSI to have these efforts verified and recognized.
ISSF in the News
Broad alliance of seafood sustainability groups call for more international action on IUU fishing
SeafoodSource
