Consolidated List of Authorized Vessels for Tuna Released

Each year, over 4 million metric tonnes of tuna are caught worldwide, with estimated market values over $7 billion in the central and western Pacific alone. Tuna is one of the most commercially valuable species and can be a target for Illegal, Unreported, & Unregulated (IUU) activities, risking overfishing of these stocks.

In effort to combat IUU fishing, the five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) have created a harmonized database of authorized fishing vessels operating in their jurisdictions. The Consolidated List of Authorized Vessels (CLAV) is updated daily, taking vessel data from all 5 RFMOs, compiling the information, and identifying discrepancies. The tool is a great step forward in combatting IUU fishing as it provides fisheries managers and industry better information and reduces uncertainty in knowing which vessels have the right to fish in which areas. These 5 RFMOs cover around 91% of the entire ocean surface, increasing accountability for tuna fishers on a large scale (Pew Charitable Trusts).

The CLAV is built to reduce human burden and provide real-time information to fisheries managers. Information in the CLAV includes vessel history, physical descriptions, and a unique identification number dubbed the Tuna Unique Vessel Identifier (TUVI). While the CLAV is still a work in progress, the data could be used to feed into a Global Record of Fishing Vessels in the future.

The 5 RFMOs that contribute to the CLAV:

Source: Pew Charitable Trusts

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Global Environmental Facility, and Common Oceans supported the CLAV endeavor for better protection of tuna populations and marine biodiversity.

To access the CLAV, visit tuna-org. To learn more about IUU fishing, visit FishWise Traceability & IUU Support resource page.