We are committed to realising harvest strategies for tuna fisheries, avoidance of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) products, improved tuna traceability and environmental sustainability, and progressing human rights in tuna fisheries.
An organisation with a strong purpose is one which inspires higher levels of trust and confidence among its Partners and stakeholders, and is more likely to grow sustainably. It is also more likely to be efficient, with strong accountability and a motivated team.
Therefore, this strategy, launched at the start of 2025, focuses on clearly articulating our vision in a way that lays out a shared purpose for Partners and stakeholders to follow. It makes clear our ambition to achieve these common objectives and outlines stepwise parameters for progress.
To carry out our diverse goals for driving change in the global tuna industry, we focus our work under three key focus areas: Blue Resilience, Blue Community, and Blue Integrity.
GTA Partners can engage in these work programmes through two primary means: direct country engagement and supply chain improvements.
Direct country engagement consists of encouraging countries to ratify and implement legislation, improve compliance measures, and promote sustainable fisheries management practices as part of a thriving international economy.
Encouraging supply chain improvements involves lowering barriers which may prevent action by countries, such as by improving in-country conditions or practices through resource, knowledge, and capacity building at all levels of the supply chain.
Approaching these key focus areas also necessitates understanding and evaluating risks in global tuna supply chains.
In March 2021, the GTA, Friends of Ocean Action, and the World Economic Forum introduced the 2025 Pledge towards Sustainable Tuna (25PST), calling for signatories to commit to working towards a global tuna sector that meets the highest standards of environmental performance and social responsibility. In early 2022, these parties collectively agreed that 25PST should cease to exist as a standalone endeavour, instead becoming the core structure of the GTA’s first 5-year strategy. The former 25PST is a UN SDG ocean commitment.
Now, we are proud to be in the second iteration of our strategic direction, carrying many of the same priorities and frameworks for accountability as were incorporated in the first 5-year plan, but honing in more intentionally on priority work areas for partners and other tuna industry stakeholders. We are committed to moving the needle on these aligned goals, and will be publicly reporting progress on an annual basis based on a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan developed in conjunction with the 2025-2030 strategy.
Resilient tuna stocks and associated ecosystems are of primary importance to ensure sustainable tuna fisheries for future generations.
Tuna is a fundamentally important global food and economic resource, serving as the backbone of many countries in terms of food supply and economic stability. Ensuring sustainable and resilient tuna fisheries and wider marine ecosystems is vital to ensuring a healthy global tuna supply for the future.
We recognize that people are at the heart and center of global tuna and their rights must be ensured in all aspects of tuna supply.
Ensuring the rights of workers and communities involved in tuna fishing and supply is paramount, recognizing that all people deserve decent labour conditions and fair pay when working in the tuna supply chain.
Ensuring transparent and traceable tuna is vital to ensuring responsible sourcing and compliance with the rules that secure sustainability and social rights.
Ensuring a traceable tuna supply chain and combatting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing are key to promoting sustainable global tuna fisheries and wider marine ecosystems. Traceability ensures responsible sourcing practices, while effectively combatting IUU fishing supports lawful operators and strengthens the delivery of sustainable fisheries management.
A real point of difference for the GTA is the comprehensive annual tracking of our Partners’ progress. We know that in business, facts and figures matter, so GTA Partners take part in extensive and thorough tracking allowing us to analyse effectiveness and performance year on year, and measure the success of the five-year strategy.
In 2022, the GTA published its first progress report, collating the results of a self-completed, anonymous questionnaire by partners, carried out at the end of 2021. This survey tested Partners’ progress towards our three strategic objectives against a set of measurable KPIs.
Similar self-completed surveys will be carried out in 2022 and 2023.
Work Programme | Programme Aim | UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) | Outputs | Outcomes | GTA KPIs |
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Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) | Ensure effective traceability (tracking tuna products from vessel to the final buyer), which underpins sustainability efforts as it creates transparency and accountability within the supply chain. | Transparency is overarching |
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100% Observer Coverage | 100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) is required in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment, by 2024. | SDG14 Target 4 |
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Electronic Monitoring (EM) | Where lacking, tuna RFMOs adopt minimum standards for Electronic Monitoring (EM) data, and a work plan with milestones and deadlines for the implementation of best practice EM and e-reporting, with necessary mechanisms to ensure compliance. | SDG14 Target 4 | |||
Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) Advocacy | Ratification and effective implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) | SDG14 Target 4 |
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Transshipment Regulations |
At-sea transshipment of catch between vessels plays a large and important role in the global tuna fishing industry though regulatory controls and monitoring are inadequate. Core best practices must be met before at-sea transshipment can be considered to be well-managed, well-monitored and transparent. | SDG14 Target 4 |
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Public tracking of fishing vessels and carrier vessels |
The public data can identify vessels and support analysis as to whether the vessel is compliant with relevant regulations or not. Information obtained from Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) or Automatic Identification System (AIS) data can be used by Global Fishing Watch (GFW) to analyse vessel compliance with relevant fisheries regulations (outlined by the flag State or regional fisheries management organisation) to a high degree of certainty. | SDG14 Target 4 |
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Support the publication of Authorised Vessel lists | Authorised Vessel lists can indicate the level of compliance to relevant authorities, meaning that compliant fishers can be identified and rewarded by accelerated port entry for the landing of fish. Non-compliant vessels immediately stand out due to the absence of information and are prioritised for inspection when seeking to land fish. | SDG14 Target 4 |
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Support Unique Vessel Identification/Global Record of Fishing Vessels | Unique vessel identifiers (UVIs) such as International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers help to improve maritime safety and security and to reduce illegal activities. An IMO number remains linked to a fishing vessel’s hull for its lifetime, regardless of a change in name, flag, or owner — preventing easy changes to identity and allowing fishing activities to be tracked across oceans and over time. Vessels 12 m in length and above leaving national waters, and all vessels 100 gross tonnes and above, regardless of where they operate, are eligible to obtain an IMO number. All major Tuna RFMO mandate the use of IMO numbers but implementation is lagging. IMO numbers are free to obtain via IHS Maritime. |
SDG14 Target 4 |
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Work Programme | Programme Aim | UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) | Outputs | Outcomes | KPIs |
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Sourcing Policy | Tuna products are sourced from fisheries that employ science-based management plans and measures to ensure that impacts of fisheries on the environment are acceptable or are on a pathway to sustainability. | SDG14 Target b, 2, 4 |
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Harvest Strategies | Tuna RFMOs to accelerate action on comprehensive, precautionary Harvest Strategies to be implemented simultaneously with the development of precautionary Reference Points and Harvest Control Rules | SDG14 Target 2, 4 |
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FAD Management | Tuna RFMOs should adopt the measures identified in the GTA’s position on better FAD Management. | SDG14 Target 2, 4 |
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Fins Naturally Attached (FNA) advocacy and policies | Tuna RFMOs to adopt a Fins Naturally Attached policy for sharks. | SDG14 Target 2 |
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Ending Harmful Subsidies | End harmful subsidies that encourage overfishing and exploitation. | SDG14 Target 6 |
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Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) | To complement and strengthen the existing high seas governance framework by filling geographic, legal and taxonomic gaps; with a particular focus on spatial management and the ecosystem-impacts of commercial fishing. | SDG14 |
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