Indian Ocean tuna - purse seine (SIOTI)

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Overview

The Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative (SIOTI) has been jointly established by key governments in the region, major tuna processors, producer organisations and their fishing vessels, with the support of WWF. This FIP is a multi-stakeholder effort, and it’s goal is to support improvement in the management of tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean so that in the future, consumers can be assured that the purse-seine tuna they purchase has been harvested sustainably. The ultimate aim is to meet the highest standards of sustainable fishing, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard.

Target species: this FIP will consider the following three pelagic tuna species as the target species: skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus)

Fishing methods: this FIP will include the use of purse seines by large (e.g. >60 m) specialist purse seine vessels. Sets by these vessels can be made in two different ways: 1. Free-schools: vessels seek large schools of tuna which are usually fished during daylight. 2. Associated sets: vessels that utilise the natural aggregation of tuna around floating objects to harvest fish. 

Fishing area: the fishing area is the Indian Ocean under the jurisdiction of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission e.g. FAO Statistical Areas 51 and 57.

Fishing fleet: the fishing fleet currently numbers around forty vessels fishing for, or on behalf of, the FIP participants. The exact nature of the fleet will be clarified as the FIP partnership evolves, and will be assessed in detail during FIP action planning. However, it is recognised that the fishing fleet might  change over time if the FIP partnership is enlarged or decreased.

Note: Currently, Fisheryprogress.org can only track MSC Performance Indicator (PI) Scores for one target species at a time. In the case of this FIP, which encompasses three different types of tuna, PIs will be tracked for the species that is most threatened within the fishery - yellowfin tuna.

FIPプロフィールレポート
 

FIP Description 

The Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative (SIOTI) has been jointly established by key governments in the region, major tuna processors, producer organisations and their fishing vessels, with the support of WWF.

FIP Objective(s) 
  • To form a collaboration between governments, industry and fleets to bring about improvements in the fishery.
  • 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 the MSC by the end of March 2022.
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
April 2017
June 2023
Update 
The SIOTI FIP is requested a one year extension with a revised end date of June 2023. In conducting our end of year 5 review and annual report, it was clear that we had made progress on many but not all of our actions. The FIP partners agreed that a one year extension would enable a greater prospect of completion of all indicators, especially with the progress being made within the RFMO on P1-related indicators in recent sessions. Several of our initiatives on P2 are ongoing with finalisation or implementation scheduled for after the current end date. The partners have committed additional funding to enable implementation of year 6 activities
Last Progress Report Reviewed 
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Next Progress Report Due 
Monday, July 31, 2023
Species 
Common Name 
Yellowfin Tuna
Scientific Name
Thunnus albacares
Buying Guide Link Image 
Yellowfin Tuna
Buying Guide
Common Name 
Skipjack Tuna
Scientific Name
Katsuwonus pelamis
Buying Guide Link Image 
Skipjack Tuna
Buying Guide
Common Name 
Bigeye Tuna
Scientific Name
Thunnus obesus
Buying Guide Link Image 
Bigeye Tuna
Buying Guide
Gear Type 
Purse Seine
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 51 (Indian Ocean, Western)
Area 57 (Indian Ocean, Eastern)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Comoros (the)
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Kenya
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Mauritius
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Madagascar
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Mozambique
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Seychelles
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
Tanzania, United Republic of
Geographic Scope 
Entire country
Country 
France
Geographic Scope 
Overseas territories of France in the Indian Ocean
Country Flag of Vessel 
Seychelles
Country Flag of Vessel 
Mauritius
Country Flag of Vessel 
France
Country Flag of Vessel 
Spain
Country Flag of Vessel 
Italy
Regional Fisheries Management Organization
IOTC
High Seas Name 
Indian Ocean
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
188,310 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
487,750 metric tons
Landings Date 
August 2022
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FIP at a Glance

7% 39% 54%
April 01, 2017
21% 43% 36%
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
A Advanced 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.
Jul 2023
Target End Date
Jun 2023

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Thai Union
Organization Type 
Industry
Primary Contact 
Dr Jan Robinson
Email 
janrobinson71@gmail.com
Website Name 
Thai Union
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.
4711