The EU welcomes the important decisions reached during the 28th annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), which will make fisheries in the Indian Ocean more sustainable. 11 new conservation and management measures were adopted.
After three years of complex negotiations, and based on a proposal from the EU, the Members of the IOTC adopted a much-needed resolution for the management of drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs). They also agreed on several other measures that are key for the sustainable management of stocks in the Indian Ocean.
Based on an EU proposal, the IOTC adopted the most ambitious and stringent management framework for drifting FADs ever adopted in any ocean. This includes:
- the immediate prohibition of the use of fully non-biodegradable drifting FADs;
- the gradual phase out of non-biodegradable components in drifting FADs to fully biodegradable FADs in 2030;
- the reduction of the number of drifting FADs per vessel (from 300 today to 250 FADs in 2026 and 225 in 2028, the lowest limit ever adopted in a regional fisheries management organisation);
- and the introduction of the first-ever register of FADs to ensure an improved control of this fishing practice.
For More Information:
Regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs)
Documents of the 28th annual meeting of the IOTC