This technical paper clarifies the nature of Catch Documentation Schemes (CDS) and what they can achieve, and identifies the factors to be considered in the design of such schemes as a management and monitoring, control and surveillance tool in tuna fisheries.

A capacity building workshop was held in Accra, Ghana on 30-31 August 2016 with a goal to create a better understanding among Atlantic Ocean States of the precautionary approach, Harvest Strategies (HSs) and management strategy evaluation (MSE) for sustainable tuna fisheries. Interest in the workshop was underscored by the participation of 35 individuals from 19 countries, representing a diverse range of roles and experience in International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) processes. The workshop was part of the "Sustainable Management of Tuna Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction" (ABNJ Tuna Project). On 5 November 2013, the Global Environment Facility approved the five-year ABNJ Tuna Project, which the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) coordinates. The workshop featured an agenda of creative interaction and dialogue among participants, aimed at providing hands on opportunities to learn harvest strategy concepts and run mock simulations of management strategy evaluations of harvest control rules. While the presentations and facilitation were given in English, where possible, written materials were provided to participants in French and Spanish. Breakout sessions were conducted in all three languages. Evaluation results from the workshop indicated that attendees gained an increased understanding of the importance of HSs and significantly increased both their knowledge of HS principles and concepts and also their confidence in being able to apply them in Commission settings. Participants expressed a strong need for Commission assistance for additional resources to enhance in-country training and engagement of managers, fishers and stakeholders, as well as to develop national level science expertise to support Commission level HS processes. There was strong support among workshop participants for sustainable tuna management enabled by deliberate management strategy evaluation of tradeoffs among potentially competing management objectives.

The bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus, has been identified as one of the least productive pelagic sharks and there is concern about its conservation status. Although it is one of three thresher sharks designated by Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission as key shark species, no Pacific Ocean stock assessment has been conducted. Information gaps and changes in reporting and observer coverage over time and space, make traditional approaches to stock assessment impractical. As an alternative and to gain new insights into the sustainability status of bigeye thresher shark, this study applies a spatially explicit and quantitative sustainability risk assessment to available data.

This document provides a legislative template and related information for use by port States and, as appropriate, to facilitate those initial steps. The document was developed in the framework of the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the FAO.

The brochure briefly introduces the three project components and informs delegates and participants in international meetings about the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project, its objectives, partners, progress and achievements.