World: IOTC adopts rules for FADs, but Indian Ocean yellowfin still facing overfishing

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) recently concluded its 28th session, with the commission adding new measures to the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) but, once again, failing to adopt any improvements to curtail yellowfin tuna fishing. The meeting – which ran from 13 to 17 May in Bangkok, Thailand – resulted in the IOTC adopting a new management measure for FADs covering a number of different best practices. NGOs like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the World Wide Fund for Nature have called for more rules regarding the devices, especially after the commission failed to reach any agreement on drifting FADs (dFADs) in 2023.This time, according to the ISSF, the IOTC has launched a management measure that includes a new definition of biodegradable FADs and a timeline for transitioning to using only biodegradable devices, an FAD register for monitoring devices throughout the IOTC’s management area, an FAD marking scheme, FAD ...