With the conclusion of the 2025 annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), in Seville, Spain, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has welcomed what it regards as meaningful progress made in some areas, particularly on harvest strategies, but has also voiced its disappointment that many issues central to achieving fully monitored and accountable fisheries were deferred to intersessional work in 2026 and beyond.
Intense time spent on bluefin tuna quota negotiations also limited the Commission’s ability to advance other priority reforms, the coalition advised.
For ISSF, the highlight of the 2025 meeting was the adoption of a management procedure (MP) for western Atlantic skipjack. This, it said, was a significant milestone and one of its top priorities.
“With this adoption, ICCAT adds western Atlantic skipjack to a growing suite of stocks managed through harvest strategies, joining Atlantic bluefin stocks, northern albacore, and North Atlantic swordfish. The Commission continues to lead among tuna RFMOs in the transition to evidence-driven, precautionary management systems,” ISSF stated.
The Foundation wants ICCAT to maintain momentum by:
- Advancing intersessional work on tropical tuna harvest strategies, with priority attention to yellowfin and bigeye
- Using the 2026 stock assessment for southern Atlantic albacore to advance the MP evaluations for that stock
ISSF said that despite growing global momentum toward improved monitoring levels in tuna fisheries, ICCAT did not make substantive advances this year on electronic monitoring (EM) or human observer coverage. It highlighted that minimum observer levels remain unchanged, and also that the Commission did not set a timeline toward achieving 100% monitoring for industrial tuna fisheries — including during at-sea transhipment events.
On the plus side, it noted progress was made to more fully align ICCAT’s port state measures recommendation to the FAO Port State Measures Agreement, and that ICCAT further refined and streamlined its compliance process.
But ISSF also pointed out that while ICCAT considered a wide range of shark and bycatch proposals, the overall progress was limited, with only a few targeted advances and several important reforms postponed to next year.
ICCAT did adopt a new measure for South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks that establishes a 1,000-tonne mortality limit, covering landings and dead discards. This, ISSF said, represented a meaningful reduction from recent catch levels and reflects improved alignment with scientific guidance.
However, significant concerns remain regarding monitoring, total mortality accounting, and implementation, it said.
For the North Atlantic stock, ICCAT did not modify the existing measure.
“A full retention ban continues to be the most precautionary, science-based approach to promote recovery, and ISSF encourages the Commission to maintain and strengthen measures for both stocks as new scientific advice becomes available,” it stated
ISSF added: “Despite growing global agreement on ‘fins naturally attached’ (FNA) as the most effective and enforceable tool for preventing finning, ICCAT once again did not adopt an FNA requirement. Modernising ICCAT’s finning regulation remains a critical priority for 2026 to ensure accurate species-specific landings data and robust enforcement.”
ICCAT did adopt new protections for two vulnerable species – basking sharks and great white sharks, by prohibiting their retention, transhipment, and landing when caught in ICCAT fisheries.
While these measures are welcome, broader reforms to improve shark bycatch recording, mitigation, and management were deferred to intersessional work, ISSF said.
“The 2025 ICCAT meeting produced a mix of achievements and missed opportunities,” it stated. “The adoption of the western Atlantic skipjack MP represents important progress toward science-based management. At the same time, delays on electronic monitoring, observer coverage, tropical tuna harvest strategies, and shark and seabird conservation highlight the need for greater urgency in 2026.”
To meet scientific advice and increasing market expectations for accountability and transparency, the coalition is urging ICCAT to accelerate its work on:
- Advancing the harvest strategy portfolio
- Scaling up EM and observer coverage
- Modernising shark and seabird measures to meet scientific best-practice
