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.

Secretariats from seven of the eight regional bodies that manage deep sea fisheries were attending the 32nd meeting of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, the Coordinator of the ABNJ Deep Seas Project took the opportunity to call an informal meeting to discuss project matters. The meeting included an update on the project; updates from Secretariats on project related activities; initiating RFMO activities in support of project objectives; and a range of topical issues. The meeting agreed to form an informal Secretariats Contact Group comprising the eight organisations to foster regular exchange of information (including, in the first instance, notices on relevant future meetings such as the various global process meetings (BBNJ and the UNGA bottom fisheries review), the outcomes of such meetings, and an indication of which organisations are attending.

Regional experts nominated by deep-sea RFMO/As gathered at the FAO headquarters in Rome from 3-5 May 2016 to participate in a workshop concerning the 2016 Worldwide Review of Bottom Fisheries in the High Seas. The objectives of the meeting were to present the framework and intent for the review, to review the draft regional chapters, identify any revisions required and agree on a work plan for the completion of the updated document. The meeting started with an introduction to the Worldwide Review, followed by presentations of the deep-sea fisheries in each region by the experts. Discussions were held on information presented as it related to the regional chapters, and on the key messages to be presented in the Worldwide Review. A plan for the completion of the Worldwide Review was also drafted.

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.