Eastern Atlantic tuna – purse seine (French fleet)

Primary tabs

Overview

The Eastern Atlantic tropical tuna French purse seine fishery improvement project targets Atlantic Ocean bigeye (Thunnus obesus), eastern Atlantic Ocean skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), and Atlantic Ocean yellowfin tuna (T. albacares) stocks on the Atlantic Ocean high seas and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Mauritania, Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Sao Tome, Gabon, and Angola.

The fishery sets on both free-school tuna or schools associated with floating objects (FOBs) either naturally occurring such as logs or artificial drifting fish aggregation devices (FADs). All vessels in the fishery are flagged to the European Union (EU) – France and are owned by the French fishing companies Compagnie Française du Thon Océanique (CFTO) and Via Océan. The vessels land in a number of places on the west coast of Africa: Ivory Coast (Abidjan), Tema (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal) and Mindelo (Cape Verde). The fishery is managed regionally by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. The fishing companies’ and Orthongel have further management measures in place and coastal states management measures also apply depending on where the vessels are operating.

The fishery achieved MSC certification in March 2024 for Atlantic yellowfin and eastern Atlantic skipjack tuna. This FIP will run concurrently with the MSC full assessment to primarily work on improving the necessary MSC Performance Indicators (PIs) for Atlantic bigeye tuna and address any conditions arising as a result of the MSC assessment process.

 

This FIP was previously part of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean tuna - purse seine FIP. The FIP began in 2018 with purse seine vessels flagged to France, Spain, and Ghana. Fleets in this project operate and are managed differently and have therefore progressed differently as they work towards achieving MSC fisheries certification. To that end, the FIP Participants made the decision to divide into their disparate elements so they may target fleet-specific issues and progress at rates appropriate to the individual fleets. Previous actions, updates and progress can be accessed here.

FIP Description 

The Eastern Atlantic tropical tuna French purse seine fishery improvement project targets Atlantic Ocean bigeye (Thunnus obesus), eastern Atlantic Ocean skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), and Atlantic Ocean yellowfin tuna (T.

FIP Objective(s) 
  • To address the shortfalls in the stock health, ecosystem health and management of the fishery by meeting actions described by the Improvement Performance Goals (IPGs).
  • To improve the fishery to a point at which it can undergo (and pass) full assessment by a credible, science-based, multi-stakeholder certification programme like the MSC by June 2028.
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 3: FIP Implementation
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2018
June 2028
Next Progress Report Due 
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Species 
Common Name 
Yellowfin Tuna
Scientific Name
Thunnus albacares
Common Name 
Skipjack Tuna
Scientific Name
Katsuwonus pelamis
Common Name 
Bigeye Tuna
Scientific Name
Thunnus obesus
Gear Type 
Purse Seine
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 34 (Atlantic, Eastern Central)
Area 47 (Atlantic, Southeast)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Mauritania
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Cabo Verde
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Senegal
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Gambia (the)
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Guinea-Bissau
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Sierra Leone
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Liberia
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Côte d'Ivoire
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Ghana
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Sao Tome and Principe
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Gabon
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Angola
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country 
Guinea
Geographic Scope 
Within EEZ
Country Flag of Vessel 
France
Regional Fisheries Management Organization
ICCAT
High Seas Name 
Atlantic Ocean
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
160,000 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
304,000 metric tons
Landings Date 
July 2022
PrintPDF

FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2018
11% 68% 21%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF

C Some Recent Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.

  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Oct 2024
Target End Date
Jun 2028

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Key Traceability Ltd.
Organization Type 
Consultant
Primary Contact 
Becky Caton
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
19723