FAO unveils “management procedures” e-learning series at ICCAT meeting

A five course FAO e-learning series on how to craft management procedures will be unveiled for the first time at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), in Seville, Spain next week. 

The series of five courses was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the support of The Ocean Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, within the FAO Common Oceans Tuna project. 

“Management procedures in tuna fisheries have achieved substantial and increasing accomplishments so far,” said Camille Jean Pierre Manel, Executive Secretary, International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, “the e-Learning series will help ensure their continued success by enabling all members and stakeholders to contribute meaningfully to these processes and leading to more sustainable tuna fisheries going forward.”   

Management procedures (MP), also known as “harvest strategies”, are pre-agreed frameworks that guide decision-making for fisheries management. They include determinations of how much fishing can occur under different stock conditions to ensure that fish populations remain healthy over the long-term.   

They have been credited with playing a major part in bringing tuna stocks back from the brink. The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) adopted a management procedure for southern bluefin in 2011, and in less than a decade the stock bounced back, and the allowable catch increased by 90 percent.    

Lock-in gains  

Eight of the world’s 23 commercial tuna stocks—representing more than half of global tuna production—are now managed under harvest strategies.   

MP development is underway for a further 11 tuna stocks, and one of those stocks – western Atlantic skipjack tuna – is slated for MP adoption at the meeting in Seville. Harvest strategies have also been adopted for several other fish stocks including small pelagic species, bottom fish and billfish.    

“If you give fish like tuna a chance to recover, they will recover. But it doesn't take too much to overfish them again,” said Shana Miller, The Ocean Foundation’s International Fisheries Conservation project director. “Whether historically overfished or still at sustainable levels, management procedures can lock in an abundant future for tunas and other international fisheries.”  

Five courses with a certificate

The first course Management procedures for sustainable tuna fisheries – Introduction describes the common elements of MPs whilst the second, Setting the vision gives guidance on creating long-term objectives for a fishery. 

The third course Management strategy evaluation (MSE) defines key aspects of the simulation process used to test performance of candidate MPs according to fishery objectives, especially under uncertain conditions.  

The fourth course Training adventure features a game-like simulation putting users in the shoes of a fisheries manager. And finally, the fifth course Lessons learned includes best practices for MP development and implementation.  

Good for other fish

While the examples used in the e-learning course primarily involve tuna fisheries, the training is broadly applicable to a variety of fisheries’ contexts, whether domestic or international. This includes other large pelagic fish, such as swordfish and blue sharks, as well as small pelagic fish, such as herring, and bottom fish including halibut.  

Currently only in English, French and Spanish language versions of the course will be available in early 2026. All five courses provide a certificate once completed with a score of 75 percent or more.  

The Common Oceans Tuna project, led by FAO and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), unites all five tuna RFMOs, scientific institutions, governments, civil society, and private sector in a shared mission to promote responsible, efficient, and sustainable tuna fisheries, while conserving biodiversity in a changing ocean environment.