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  • high-seas-management
  1. Home
  2. Oceanic Shark Project

Oceanic Shark Project

Regional Fisheries Management Bodies (RFMOs) are high-seas management bodies that are formed by countries with fishing interests in a particular area. These could be countries in the region (‘coastal states’) or countries with interests in the fisheries concerned.

RFMOs set catch and fishing limits, technical measures, and control obligations – these are binding for their members. Some bodies manage all stocks, while some focus mainly on tuna and other highly migratory fishes.

There are 6 tuna RFMOs and 11 non-tuna RFMOs – some of which have overlapping areas. The Shark Trust contributes to the following, where we have ‘Observer’ status allowing us to engage in meetings at the following:

  • International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

  • General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)

  • North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)

  • Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)

And we contribute through our partner organisations at:

  • Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)

  • Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)

  • Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)


International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

We advocate for sharks and push for science-based management of high-seas fisheries through Regional Fisheries Management Bodies (RFMOs). Read more

Published: 4th December, 2018

Updated: 4th September, 2023

Author: Hannah Tarrant

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