The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation this week announced that it passed a conservation measure in an effort to kick-start the creation of a global registry for tuna-fishing vessels.
The measure gives vessels subject to regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) registry one year to obtain a unique vessel identifier from the International Maritime Organization numbering system. It also calls on participating ISSF companies to refrain from transactions with vessels that fail to secure a number by 31 May, 2011.
The foundation is also offering to work with RFMOs and member states to support efforts to create the global registry, including financial assistance.
"The use of a simple series of numbers can help the fishing industry take a significant step toward more sustainable practices and eliminate the market for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing," said ISSF President Susan Jackson. "These identifiers make it that much easier for regional fisheries management organizations to begin building a global tuna vessel registry."
"Priority was placed on creating this comprehensive list during the first joint meeting of tuna RFMOs and that was three years ago," she added. "We don't see any reason, technical or otherwise, why this can't be done."
