ISSF is a leader in developing industry-wide conservation measures to end unsustainable tuna fishing. These measures include, among other things, curbing illegal fishing and the reduction of bycatch. Through their participation in ISSF, tuna companies dedicate funds to advance better policies and practices, and to support much-needed conservation science.

What sets this endeavor apart from other tuna conservation efforts – and the reason World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has supported ISSF’s mission since the beginning – is the foundation’s focus on harnessing the power of the market to drive progress, rather than solely relying on legal mandates. That’s because each ISSF participating company has accepted a binding agreement to comply with the foundation’s performance standards. By complying with conservation targets set by ISSF, and measurably improving their environmental performance, member companies are able to present themselves as ISSF compliant with retailers and consumers who are interested in sustainable seafood.

The overall market share of ISSF participating tuna companies – now about 75% of the global canned tuna market – provides real leverage for advancing conservation. One of ISSF’s earliest measures required canned tuna products sold by participating companies to be traceable all the way back to the vessel that originally caught the fish.

Read more about sustainable seafood by Brad Ack at TriplePundit