17 September 2019

On the 17-19 of September, managers, scientists and other stakeholders from all the tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) are meeting at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to discuss how best to manage the effects of tuna fishing on oceanic ecosystems.

Workshop facilitator Ian Cartwright © FAO

During a three-day workshop, the participants will be discussing progress with implementing what is known as the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), which seeks to take into account of the impacts of fishing operations on the environment, including interactions between 'target' species (tunas) and their prey, incidental catches of other species (bycatch) and the broader marine ecosystem.

While there is a growing level of scientific understanding about marine ecosystems in a fisheries context, the real challenge is translating that science into operational measures agreed at RFMO level that will improve fisheries management outcomes.

This is the second workshop organized by the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project – funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by FAO – to support the implementation of the EAFM in tuna fisheries. Learn more about outcomes of the first workshop that took place in December 2016 here, or in the full meeting report that is available here.

Findings from this second workshop will be made available in a report following the workshop.

• Mr Alejandro Anganuzzi, Global Coordinator, Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project, FAO | [email protected]