The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its Update to ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & ProActive Vessel Register Compliance Report, which shows a conformance rate of 99.1% by 23 ISSF participating companies with all 33 ISSF conservation measures in effect.
This report updates the ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & ProActive Vessel Register Compliance Report published in June 2024 and reflects efforts by ISSF participating companies to improve on those instances where less than full compliance was achieved. Remedial audits, if any, take place between June and October each year against measures for companies with minor nonconformance or major nonconformance.
Following the remediation period since the annual compliance report in June 2024, 17 of 23 companies fully complied with 33 audited measures, five companies had one minor non-conformance, and one had two minor non-conformances. The 99.1% conformance rate is a slight increase from 98.95% in June.
As part of its commitment to foster transparency and accountability in the fishing industry, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to assess ISSF participating seafood companies’ compliance with ISSF conservation measures according to a rigorous audit protocol.
“The transparent and independent auditing process our participating companies and vessels volunteer to undergo builds on the foundation of accountability that makes our conservation measures effective — and helps to hold other industry players to high standards,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “ISSF participating companies and vessels make the continuous improvement of global tuna fishery sustainability a key part of their business operations by individually committing to conservation measures and providing transparency into ongoing efforts and progress.”
ISSF’s report also includes the aggregate compliance rate of vessels listed on its ProActive Vessel Register (PVR). That data — reported as of December 31, 2023 — is unchanged from the June 2024 report. For PVR-listed vessels, the report shows an aggregate compliance rate of 76% with the 12 ISSF conservation measures that directly address vessel activity, including RFMO Participation; Transactions with Vessels that Use Only Non-entangling FADs; Vessel-based FAD Management Policy; and Observer Coverage, for example. The PVR is one of four public vessel lists ISSF provides to foster transparency in tuna fishing.
Details of the Updated Report
The November 2024 report is based on updates to the initial audit results published in June 2024, which showed six companies had one minor non-conformance with conservation measures in the prior year, and one company had two minor non-conformances.
The Update to ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & ProActive Vessel Register Compliance Report is published in November to track ISSF participating companies’ progress in conforming with ISSF conservation measures like these:
- Demonstrating the ability to trace products from can code or sales invoice to vessel and trip
- Submitting quarterly purchase data by vessel, trip dates, species, size and other data to RFMO scientific bodies
- Transactions only with those longline vessels whose owners have a policy requiring the implementation of best practices for bycatch mitigation of sharks and marine turtles
- Establishing and publishing policies to prohibit shark finning and avoiding transactions with vessels that carry out shark finning
- Conducting transactions only with purse seine vessels whose skippers have received science-based information from ISSF on best practices such as reducing bycatch
- Avoiding transactions with vessels that are on an RFMO IUU fishing list
MRAG Americas also issues individual ISSF participating company reports that detail each company’s compliance with the ISSF conservation measures for the year. These will include any “update” reports, published throughout the year, that explain how individual companies have remediated any non-conformances on the conservation measures.
More Information on ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance
For long-term sustainability, tuna companies worldwide participate with ISSF, follow responsible fishing practices and implement science-based conservation measures. From bycatch mitigation to product traceability, ISSF participating companies have committed to conforming to conservation measures and other commitments designed to drive positive change — and to do so transparently through third-party audits.
View the updated report here and related infographics here.
View ISSF conservation measures here.
View ISSA compliance policy here.
