One of the greatest threats to species and population survival of marine mammals with their relatively slow growth and low fecundity comes from inadvertent interaction with, or capture in, fishing and aquaculture operations. FAO members have expressed great concern about bycatch...

The 2018 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture emphasizes the sector’s role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and measurement of progress towards these goals. It notes the particular contributions...

Fish aggregating devices (FADs) used by tuna purse seine fisheries improve fishing efficiency relative to other purse seine fishing strategies and make it possible to successfully fish in new areas. However, when not responsibly managed, FADs can cause adverse effects. Use of...

This report describes a pilot project to test means and methods of marking gillnets in accordance with FAO’s Draft Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear (‘the Draft Guidelines’) and to explore the scope for a retrieval and recycling scheme.The...

Addressing environmental impacts associated with fishing operations in capture fisheries has been a priority topic area on the agenda of FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) for many years. Thus, issues such as bycatch and discards, abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded...