100% observer coverage (human and/or electronic) is required in industrial tuna fisheries, including all those engaged in at sea transshipment.
Tuna Only
Category
Transparency
Sub-Category
Monitoring Commitment
Category Guidance
Require that all tuna sourced from industrial vessels originates from vessels with 100% observer coverage (human or electronic) unless exempt or prevented by force majeure.
Industrial vessels referenced by this commitment may include:
- Large-Scale Purse Seine3
- Large-Scale Longline4
- Transshipment Vessels5
If vessel utilizes EM instead of a human observer, require that the system at least meets minimum standards for EM.
The minimum standards cover:
- EM equipment and installation.
- EM operations and data collection.
- Review of EM records and reporting.
Means of Verification
Obtain/provide list of shelf-stable products sold by company and randomly selects four (4) products to verify whether they originate from industrial vessels with 100% observer coverage. For human observers, evidence may include copies of the observer contract, crew lists, signed and dated captain’s statement, transshipment declarations (when applicable). For EM, evidence may include the EM installation and operation contracts, EM reports, and communications with institutions, organizations, independent companies with proven expertise and experience (e.g., with onboard observer programs), and/or recognized research institutions.
If product originates from a large-scale purse seine vessel listed on the Proactive Vessel Register (PVR), or from an ISSF Participating Company, no further verification is required as the vessel is already being audited against this requirement.
Suggested Frequency
Annually
3 Large-scale purse seine vessels are those with at least 335 m3 of fish hold volume.
4 Large-scale longline vessels are those with at least 20m length overall (LOA).
5 Transshipment vessels are those that receive tuna from longline vessels authorized to transship at-sea.
