Fisheries generate billions of dollars worldwide each year and play a vital role in marine ecosystems and food security. But most of the regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) responsible for overseeing key international fisheries lack basic rules to ensure the long-term health of fish stocks.
Collectively, RFMOs oversee activities in more than 95 percent of the ocean and include more than half of the world’s governments. It is imperative that these bodies have science-based, enforceable rules for the species they manage.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is working across multiple RFMOs to help these bodies modernize their management of international fisheries by adopting precautionary harvest strategies for the stocks they manage; reforming oversight of longline fishing and transshipment practices; implementing robust enforcement and compliance systems to ensure that the rules set for these fisheries are followed; and promoting protections for vulnerable species and critical habitats affected by these fisheries.
High demand for tuna products, however, has significantly depleted several populations, making sustainably managing tunas critically important. One way to support better population management is to improve our understanding of tunas’ importance to the global economy and marine ecosystems.
