Report of the Third Project Steering Committee: Sustainable Management of Tuna Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation in the ABNJ, Rome, Italy, 6-8 July 2016. 

The report outlines the main outcomes of the Seychelles National Awareness workshop held on 8-9 June 2017 in Victoria, Seychelles. The workshop aims to build capacity of the national and facilitated discussions on Effective Seabird Conservation in Tuna Fisheries and the challenges that this specific fleet faces. 

The Workshop gathered officers responsible for compliance from the five tRFMOs, and other MCS experts, who exchanged information and experience on the following topics: Data management for effective implementation and control of RFMO measures, including reporting by Secretariat and web-based capabilities; Authorized vessel lists; Compliance assessment and review procedures; IUU Vessel listing; E-monitoring and e-reporting; Transshipment at sea; and Port State measures.

Aims and outcomes of the workshop To strengthen national scientist capacity to analyse bycatch data, two workshops to bring together experts, national scientists and institutions working with seabird bycatch data from vessels operating south of 25° South were implemented Through the process of strengthening national scientist capacity to analyse seabird bycatch data, these workshops and intersessional work are aimed ultimately at a collaborative, joint tuna-RFMO assessment of seabird bycatch and the effectiveness of the relevant Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs) in tuna longline fisheries.

Fishing with bottom-contact gear in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) occurs on continental shelves, slopes or isolated oceanic topographic structures such as seamounts, ridge systems and banks. These bottom fisheries comprise a small, yet valuable, part of ABNJ activities. FAO estimates that the total global catch in 2014 caught by bottom-contact fishing gear was less than 150 000 tonnes, comprising of more than 50 species in reported catches, and involved at least 11 flag States. Regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements (RFMO/As) and other multi-lateral bodies with a fisheries management mandate are managing these bottom fisheries in the ABNJ. Currently, there are eight of these bodies, three of which were created in the last five years.