COMPLETED Cook Islands bigeye tuna - longline

Since 2013, Anova Food/Fishing & Living and Luen Thai Fishing Ventures have been co-leading the Cook Islands Fishery Improvement Project for the country's pelagic longline tuna fishery. The FIP covers all vessels that are participating in the Cook Islands longline fishery. In March 2017, the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) portion of this fishery became MSC-certified. The FIP now only covers bigeye tuna caught both within the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the adjacent high seas. Vessels in this fishery primarily fish within the Cook Islands EEZ and about 5% of fishing effort occurs in the country's adjacent high seas. Participants of this FIP currently include the Ministry of Marine Resources of the Cook Islands (MMR), Luen Thai Fishing Ventures and Anova Food LLC/Fishing & Living.