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...

This document provides information on FAO’s current work in addressing issues of bycatch and discards, as they relate to fisheries management, fishing operations and practices, and sustainable livelihoods, in support of the International Guidelines on Managing Bycatch and Reduction of...

A Committee of Fisheries (COFI) document reporting on three expert workshops, held between 2014 and 2017, to objectively assess the impact of bottom trawls on a global scale and to develop trawling best practices in support of the Code of...