The five-year, $50-million Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Common Oceans ABNJ Program rolled out by FAO and partners has made remarkable progress in protecting international waters' biodiversity by rendering fishing in these waters less harmful to several marine species, including sea turtles and tuna.  

As a migratory fish species, tuna can swim thousands of miles between countries and across the open ocean, straddling both the exclusive economic zones as well as the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Approximately seven million tonnes of tuna and tuna-like species are landed yearly, and there are over 96...

The process of developing a new international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) continued with a third session of the Intergovernmental Conference – referred...

Rome, Italy, 8-10 July 2019. During the second week of July 2019, partners of the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project came together for the 6th Project Steering Committee meeting. Over 40 participants including partner organizations and other stakeholders with interest in learning more about the Project and potential...

It has been almost 5 years since the Common Oceans ABNJ Deep Sea Project was initiated, and by 2019 the Project will have finalized all its activities. Over the years, the Project has contributed to improving deep-sea fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), following...