Sea turtles are affected by a range of different factors, some natural and others caused by human activities, including fishing operation. As a result, all sea turtles species whose conservation status has been assessed are considered to be threatened or endangered. These guidelines provide assistance for the preparation of national or multilateral fisheries management measures and industry initiatives that may help to conserve sea turtles by reducing the negative impacts that fisheries may have on them. They present our best understanding of how to reduce the proportion of caught turtles that are killed as a result of interactions with marine capture fisheries. These guidelines include information about how to change fishing gear and fishing methods and how the fishing industry can adopt voluntary approaches to reduce sea turtle mortality.--Publisher's description.

Bycatch is the unwanted or non-target part of the catch taken by fishermen. It is either discarded at sea or used for human or animal consumption. The capture of bycatch may pose a threat to species diversity and ecosystem health because this part of the catch is usually unregulated. In tropical shrimp-trawl fisheries, bycatch often consists of juvenile food-fish species and is therefore a threat to food security and sustainable fisheries production. Bycatch is a global problem that must be addressed. This Guide to Bycatch Reduction in Tropical Shrimp-Trawl Fisheries is designed for fishermen, net makers, fishing technologists and others interested in a practical guide to the design, use and operation of effective bycatch reduction devices. Fishery managers, policy-makers and legislators will find this guide useful to help develop specifications governing the design and application of these devices in a shrimptrawl fishery. The issue of bycatch is not going away and scrutiny of fishing activity is increasing. All fishermen are strongly urged to use appropriate bycatch reduction measures to help maintain the productivity of the fishery and the long term prosperity of the fishing industry. By responding appropriately, fishermen can help to protect the marine environment and assist global food security both now and in the future. Also published in French and Spanish.

Recognizing the need for control, this report focuses on international obligations regarding deep-sea fisheries and biodiversity conservation, and discusses provisions that require national-level implementation. It analyses policy and legal instruments, and identifies implementation challenges.

Potentially harmful contact between fisheries and marine vulnerable species represents a global conservation issue and efforts to mitigate the negative repercussions of these interactions belong in strategies for ensuring the sustainability of fisheries. This literature review offers a survey of mitigation measures and techniques that have been developed and tested around the world, aiming to address both the incidental catch of highly mobile species – specifically, cetaceans, seabirds, sharks and rays, and sea turtles – and depredation caused by dolphins. Based on research detailed in over 300 documents, including peer-reviewed publications, reports from international organizations and papers available on the internet, most of the mitigation techniques illustrated are still under development, with only a few already adopted through legislation. The selected mitigation measures are grouped by main types of fishing gear – gillnets and trammel nets, longlines and lines, trawls, purse seines, traps and pots – and further subdivided according to which of the four main groups of vulnerable species – cetaceans, seabirds, sharks and rays, or sea turtles – they are designed to protect. Preventive and curative approaches covering both technical measures (gear modifications, strategies, as well as acoustic, visual, magnetic and chemosensory deterrents) and management measures are described.

The Consultation was attended by 28 Members of FAO and by observers from three intergovernmental and four international non-governmental organizations, and addressed the major issues with regards to sea turtles conservation and fisheries with special emphasis on: (i) current status of sea turtles conservation and factors affecting the mortality of sea turtles; (ii) fishing gears and techniques to reduce sea turtle mortality; (iii) development of guidelines to reduce sea turtle mortality; (iv) assistance to members from developing countries for the conservation of sea turtles, and (v) future directions for global work on sea turtles conservation and fisheries. The Technical Consultation agreed on recommendations for FAO, for Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs) and for Member States related to future work on sea turtle conservation and reduction of sea turtle mortality in fishing operations, to be submitted to the Twenty-sixth Session of the Committee on Fisheries.--Publisher's description.

This collection addresses the central question of how the current international framework for the regulation of fisheries may be strengthened in order to meet the challenges posed by changing fisheries and ocean conditions, in particular climate change. International fisheries law has developed significantly since the 1990s, through the adoption and establishment of international instruments and bodies at the global and regional levels. Global fish stocks nevertheless remain in a troubling state, and fisheries management authorities face a wide array of internal and external challenges, including operational constraints, providing effective management advice in the face of scientific uncertainty and non-compliance by States with their international obligations. This book examines these challenges and identifies options and pathways to strengthen international fisheries law. While it has a primarily legal focus, it also features significant contributions from specialists drawn from other disciplines, notably fisheries science, economics, policy and international relations, in order to provide a fuller context to the legal, policy and management issues raised. Rigorous and comprehensive in scope, this will be essential reading for lawyers and non-lawyers interested in international fisheries regulation in the context of profoundly changing ocean conditions.

This book analyses the law-making of ecosystem-based fisheries management in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction as a post-development of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) so as to avoid stocks collapse and destruction of critical habitats, and increase the resilience of marine ecosystems.

The purpose of this Manual is to assist IOTC Contracting Parties and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties (CPCs) to better understand the measures and actions that they must take in discharging their reporting obligations. It provides an overview of the IOTC Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs) that require active reporting and explains the aim, technical requirements and reporting requirements for each. The content is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the objective and structure of this Manual. It describes IOTC Resolutions and Recommendations, and explains the IOTC functions and institutional arrangements responsible for compliance with their requirements. It defines both event-based and recurring reporting and presents a table showing for each Resolution whether the flag, port, coastal and/or market State(s) has or have reporting obligations. The second chapter focuses on the Resolutions that require reporting and explains for each the key considerations for its adoption, the aim and application, technical and reporting requirements. The Resolutions appear in a framework based on the objective of the Resolution: fisheries management, monitoring, control and surveillance, mandatory statistics and market-related measures. The third chapter describes CPCs’ reporting requirements under Article X of the IOTC Agreement, the Rules of Procedure and relevant decisions of the Commission and the Scientific Committee. They require reporting through the annual Report of Implementation, the Standard Compliance Questionnaire and the National Scientific Report. This Manual is a living document that can be revised and improved by all CPCs as experience is gained in the implementation of the IOTC Conservation and Management Measures.

This manual will assist Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Members and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties in better understanding their obligations. It also provides an overview of the Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs).