©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
Blog originally published on FAO’s Common Oceans Program Newsroom.
Focus on All Tunas 2028 for the adoption of long-term harvest strategies
28/04/2026
Boston – Tuna harvesting and sustainability generated widespread interest during events staged by the Common Oceans Program Tuna project at the Seafood Expo North America in March.
The Seafood Expo North America (SENA) is the continent’s largest seafood show. This year’s event from 15-17 March drew more than 20,000 industry professionals and experts who exchanged views on the current state and the future of the seafood sector.
The role of tunas, some of the most important seafood species in overall volume and value, was advanced by the GEF-funded Common Oceans Tuna project through a booth and panel discussion to promote the All Tunas 2028 initiative.
All Tunas 2028 aims to give seafood retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and others a voice to promote adoption of harvest strategies for the most commercially valuable tuna stocks by the end of 2028.
More than 60 people attended the panel discussion which highlighted the importance of management procedures (MPs), also known as harvest strategies, and their impact on the seafood supply chain as well as the vital role played by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
Shana Miller, project director, International Fisheries Conservation at The Ocean Foundation, said: “SENA provided a valuable opportunity to engage with an often-underrepresented RFMO stakeholder—the seafood supply chain professionals who bring fish from vessel to consumer.”
“Harvest strategies are essential for ensuring the long-term fishery stability and abundance that underpin their businesses,” Miller said. “That’s why they support All Tunas 2028, and HarvestStrategies.org is proud to be the online home of this important initiative.”
Katy Hladki, senior officer, markets, international fisheries at The Pew Charitable Trusts, stressed the importance of SENA as an opportunity to engage with stakeholders across the supply chain.
“We were excited to see such strong interest in the All Tunas 2028 initiative,” Hladki said. “It was a great kick off to this important work to bring market voices to RFMOs and support the timely adoption of harvest strategies for all tuna stocks.”
RFMOs are critical for the management of the world’s most valuable fisheries, yet the seafood markets and in particular, consumers, rarely participate in their decisions.
Industry taking the next step to connect RFMOs with fisheries and markets
Nicole Condon, the director of Brand & Social Impact at Oddisea SuperFrozen and Vice-Chair of the board at Sea Pact, said industry players, like Sea Pact, were taking the next step in RFMO engagement to connect fisheries and the markets in which we operate.
“We often find a gap between in-market sustainability demands—including new regulatory requirements—and the adoption and implementation of critical steps, such as harvest strategies, at the RFMO level,” Condon said.
“We must do more to not only relay the urgency of this work for our own operations further down the supply chain, but also do more to build trust as reliable partners in this process. That is why we support initiatives like All Tunas 2028.”
Across the five tuna RFMOs, MPs have been adopted for a subset of the world’s commercially important tuna stocks, covering more than half global tuna production. However, progress remains uneven.
Of the 23 RFMO‑managed commercially important tuna stocks, only ten currently have an agreed management procedures in place. Eight others are at advanced stages of MP development, while for four stocks, development has yet to be initiated.
That means a substantial share of global tuna production continues to be managed through stock‑assessment‑based decision‑making, alongside ongoing efforts to broaden the application of management procedures
FAO has developed an e-learning series, Management Procedures for sustainable tuna fisheries in collaboration with The Ocean Foundation, the ISSF and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The series introduces core concepts behind management procedures, or harvest strategies, and step-by-step training that aims to strengthen the capacity of fisheries professionals to actively engage in their development and implementation.
Harvest strategies provide for pre-agreed decision-making frameworks that determine allowable fishing levels under different stock conditions. They aim to keep fisheries within sustainable limits while reducing the risk of stock decline.
To learn more:
https://elearning.fao.org/course/mp-series-en
https://www.fao.org/in-action/commonoceans/en
Tunas are some of the most important seafood species in the world. Tuna fisheries support livelihoods across oceans, provide a critical source of nutrition, and play a major role in global seafood supply chains. Sea Pact, a collaboration of North American mid-supply chain seafood companies advancing sustainability, recognizes this significance firsthand. In fact, when Sea Pact members were asked which wild species or commodity was most important to their individual businesses, the majority identified fresh and frozen tuna as number one, making tuna sustainability, responsibility, and traceability essential to Sea Pact’s efforts.
Sea Pact has a long history of supporting fishery improvement efforts across global fisheries through collaborations, supply chain engagement, and projects. As our members continue strengthening their commitments to responsible sourcing, it is clear that long-term sustainability depends on well-informed, resilient management systems and collective engagement. That is why Sea Pact supports advancing harvest strategies for tuna and engaging with the international bodies where tuna management decisions are made.
When it comes to maintaining sustainable fishery stock statuses, harvest strategies are one of the most effective and practical tools available to protect tuna fisheries over the long haul. They provide a science-based framework for how fisheries should respond and adapt in the face of change.
In practice, harvest strategies help deliver:
Despite their importance, the need for broader adoption of harvest strategies in tuna fisheries remains. Currently, 13 out of the 23 commercially important tuna stocks managed through Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) are still not regulated by a harvest strategy. RFMOs are international bodies composed of countries that have the responsibility of managing shared stocks of highly migratory species, like tuna. They set catch limits, adopt conservation measures, and determine whether tools like harvest strategies are implemented.
It is often the case that the market demand and expectations that drive fisheries develop faster than RFMO management changes can be implemented. Yet, RFMO discussions often lack consistent representation from the market end of the supply chain, including the retailers and suppliers that depend on tuna fisheries for long-term sourcing. Sea Pact believes markets have an important role to play in supporting timely, science-based management, and that effective RFMO engagement is built on consistent engagement and long-term trust and relationship building.
Starting in 2026, Sea Pact will be taking part in a new initiative, All Tunas 2028, to seek direct engagement with RFMO delegates with a focus on advancing harvest strategies and supporting stronger long-term management for priority tuna stocks.
Our approach will center on:
This work reflects Sea Pact’s broader commitment to ensuring that seafood markets are actively contributing to solutions that support the long-term sustainability of the fisheries our members depend on. Sea Pact recognizes that this kind of direct RFMO engagement represents a new approach for the organization, and we are actively working to align with other existing efforts such as harveststrategies.org, the Global Tuna Alliance, and the NGO Tuna Forum. We strongly believe that this work will only strengthen our collective goals. Our efforts will officially kick off with Nicole Condon, the Director, Brand & Social Impact for Oddisea SuperFrozen and Sea Pact Board Vice-Chair, speaking at the panel All Tuna 2028: Desserts and Discussion at the Seafood Expo North America next month in Boston. We hope you can join us!
Sea Pact and its members are excited to support this work by bringing market leadership into global fishery governance spaces and advocating for management systems that support responsible sourcing and a stable future for tuna fisheries.
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Nicole Condon is a leader in the seafood sustainability space with over two decades of multi-disciplinary experience at the intersection of industry, science, non-profits, and policy. After a decade in nonprofit management, Nicole transitioned to the private sector as the Director of Brand & Social Impact at Oddisea SuperFrozen where she is working to tackle human rights, environmental, and traceability challenges along the supply change, cementing Oddisea’s leadership at the forefront of responsible sourcing practices.
Sam Grimley serves as Executive Director of Sea Pact, a coalition of North American seafood companies working together to advance seafood sustainability through supply chain engagement and collective action. Sam has more than fifteen years of experience helping seafood buyers and industry partners improve sourcing and drive sustainability initiatives having previously worked for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.