International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) meeting in Washington DC, United States;

Noting that the objective of the ISSF is to facilitate the effective conservation and management of tuna resources and the ecosystem to which they belong;

Recalling that each tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) develops vessel registration requirements and maintains a regional record of such tuna fishing vessels authorized to fish in the Convention Area of that RFMO, and that these records are publically available;

Being aware that a vessel may be included on the record of authorized fishing vessels in multiple RFMOs simultaneously;

Further recognizing that the IHS-Fairplay administered International Maritime Organization numbering system (IMO number) provides a mechanism and registry for the unique identification and registration of vessels;

Recognizing that fishing by vessels subject to listing but not listed as authorized by an RFMO diminishes the effectiveness of conservation and management measures and the long-term sustainability of the resources being managed;

Determined to recognize the significance of RFMO authorized vessel lists and to encourage the registration of vessels to obtain a unique vessel identifier that will increase traceability and transparency at a global level;

Resolves to adopt the conservation measure that processors, traders, importers, transporters and others involved in the seafood industry refrain from transactions in tuna caught:

1. By vessels that are not on the authorized vessel record of the RFMO governing the ocean area in which the tuna was caught, at the time of the fishing trip, so long as the vessel is of a size subject to listing in the RFMO authorized vessel record.

2. By vessels of a size subject to listing in the RFMO authorized vessel record and capable of being registered by IMO, that have not registered with IMO and thus have not received an IMO number unique vessel identifier number by May 31, 2011.

Download: Resolution 10-01