Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Global Fishing Watch (GFW), and International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) are collaborating to improve transparency in global tuna fisheries. The groups will leverage their extensive databases to help buyers more holistically assess the environmental impacts and compliance of their tuna supply chains. This collaboration was made possible through grant funding from the Walmart Foundation.
The collaboration will utilize SFP’s FishSource and Seafood Metrics platforms, which buyers widely use to monitor sourcing. It will also integrate information from ISSF’s Proactive Vessel Register (PVR) and Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI), as well as GFW’s Vessel Viewer and Marine Manager. These databases include sustainability indicators beyond the health of fish stocks and management practices, to reflect market needs and ensure responsible tuna sourcing.
“We aren’t reinventing the wheel. We’re making it easier for tuna buyers to utilize all of the valuable, existing data and resources by putting them together on a platform they’re already familiar with and connecting it with their sourcing,” said Kathryn Novak, Biodiversity and Nature Director at SFP. “By combining existing resources, we can equip buyers with the information they need to make more informed decisions.”
A major challenge in effectively managing tuna fisheries and protecting ocean wildlife is the lack of transparency and inadequate monitoring and data collection of activities at sea. For example, in many longline tuna fisheries, which are known for their significant impact on marine life, observer coverage is below the required five percent. Additionally, vessel-level data on bycatch mitigation practices and the risk of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains limited and fragmented.
Strengthening transparency through improved vessel-level monitoring and open data sharing is essential to close these knowledge gaps. By revealing what is actually happening on the water, stakeholders can prioritize action areas, inform coordinated responses, design evidence-based policies and promote sustainable, accountable fisheries management that protects both marine biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on it.
Buyers will be able to utilize the combined data and platforms to recognize proactive vessels that are reporting their use of sustainable practices and complying with other international regulations at sea.
“Verified transparency is the cornerstone of credible, science-based sustainability,” said Susan Jackson, President of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). “By contributing vessel-level insights to this collaboration, we’re helping to close information gaps that have long challenged stakeholders seeking to evaluate seafood sustainability. We value our partnership with SFP, whose retailer-facing platforms and policy engagement are instrumental in ensuring that sustainability commitments are rooted in science, transparency, and measurable progress.”
Charles Kilgour, Director of Program Initiatives at Global Fishing Watch, said: “We’re excited to contribute to a collaboration that empowers tuna buyers with the information they need to make responsible sourcing decisions. By integrating key data sources into a platform already familiar with industry, we’re helping build a broader and more inclusive understanding of vessel-level activity – including data gaps and key risk indicators. This enables industry to better target risk mitigation efforts and strengthens accountability and cooperation between government and industry, in a way that is driving a shift to more sustainable and transparent policies.”