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Abstract The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) commissioned the project ‘Monitoring and surveillance data for future chemical risk assessment needs in EFSA: Exploring new opportunities’ to anticipate emerging challenges in chemical risk assessment by identifying and prioritising data needs for monitoring and surveillance across human, animal and environmental health domains. The objectives were to map these needs against relevant data sources and provide recommendations to improve data access and generation. Eight chemical groups were examined: pesticides, environmental pollutants, biogenic substances, food additives and flavourings, food enzymes, food contact materials, feed additives and processing contaminants. The study applied a structured approach combining a review of EFSA outputs, peer‐reviewed literature, and an online survey of EFSA scientific units. Forty‐four data gaps were identified, with 21 prioritised as highly relevant. Critical gaps include occurrence data in processed foods, metabolites and degradation products, human biomonitoring, combined exposure scenarios and data for sensitive or underrepresented populations. Data source mapping included screening 66,958 literature entries, conducting web searches and consulting with stakeholders, yielding 230 unique data sources, of which only 49.6% (114) met eligibility criteria. Coverage varied significantly: pesticides and environmental pollutants were well represented, while food enzymes and feed additives exhibited severe deficiencies. Persistent challenges include fragmentation, poor interoperability, restricted access to private datasets and limited geographical representativeness, hindering the operationalisation of the One Health approach. The recommendations focus on generating new data to address underrepresented gaps, harmonising standards through FAIR principles and FoodEx2, improving data sharing via open or controlled‐access frameworks, and supporting the development of the EU Common Data Platform for Chemicals. Implementing these measures will enhance data accessibility and interoperability, reinforcing scientific rigor and enabling EFSA to deliver proportionate, One Health‐aligned risk assessments for emerging chemical challenges.

Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, otherwise known as ‘ghost gear’, impacts marine ecosystems in a variety of important ways. The growing recognition of these impacts has led to an evolution of fisheries management with a focus on gear loss avoidance and ghost gear mitigation. The Marine Stewardship Council has responded to the global ghost gear challenge through important revisions made to its Fisheries Standard during the recent Fisheries Standard Review (FSR). Fisheries certified against the Fisheries Standard will be required to explicitly assess and manage their ghost gear impact on target stocks, on bycatch and on marine habitats - this outcome received strong support during public consultation undertaken for the policy development process. These changes are aimed implementation of best practice management strategies which emphasise gear loss preventative measures supplemented by mitigation and remedial action to minimise impact of ghost gear. Here, we discuss the policy development process which supported these changes, current best practice for ghost gear management and mitigation, policy design, public consultation, and impact testing. Lessons learned from the policy development process are presented, as well as an overview of these changes and their potential impact for fisheries currently certified and those planning to seek certification against the MSC Fisheries Standard.

Fisheries that target tunas and tuna-like species are managed by tuna regional fisheries management organizations (t-RFMO) and are known to interact with various bycatch species, including sea turtles, with potentially negative effects. Actions and management measures implemented by t-RFMO to monitor sea turtle fisheries interactions, reduce their bycatch in fisheries, and carry out best practices for the handling and safe release of sea turtles, with the ultimate aim of improving the conservation of sea turtles are revised. Specifically, the actions and regulations for each of the following areas are revised: (i) data collection requirements, (ii) bycatch estimates and assessments, (iii) management measures, and (iv) any other conservation and management actions for sea turtle conservation. The particular case of the Mediterranean Sea also was analyzed, given that it has the highest rate of sea turtle bycatch in the world. Tuna-RFMO have a great potential for reducing fisheries bycatch impacts in marine turtle populations globally, but their actions are limited by their geographic scopes and mandates and the variety of habitats used by sea turtles during their life history. Tuna-RFMO also have a potentially significant role in leading the reduction of incidental sea turtle mortality in fisheries under their purview, both regionally and globally, by bringing together different stakeholders and initiatives.

Purse-seine tropical tuna fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (EPO) results in the bycatch of several sensitive species groups, including elasmobranchs. Effective ecosystem management balances conservation and resource use and requires considering trade-offs and synergies. Seasonal and adaptive spatial measures can reduce fisheries impacts on nontarget species while maintaining or increasing target catches. Identifying persistently high-risk areas in the open ocean, where dynamic environmental conditions drive changes in species' distributions, is essential for exploring the impact of fisheries closures. We used fisheries observer data collected from 1995 to 2021 to explore the spatiotemporal persistence of areas of high bycatch risk for 2 species of oceanic sharks, silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) and oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), and of low tuna catch rates. We analyzed data collected by fisheries scientific observers onboard approximately 200 large purse-seine vessels operating in the EPO under 10 different flags. Fishing effort, catch, and bycatch data were aggregated spatially and temporally at 1°×1° cells and monthly, respectively. When areas of high fishing inefficiency were closed the entire study period and effort was reallocated proportionally to reflect historical effort patterns, yearly tuna catch appeared to increase by 1-11%, whereas bycatch of silky and oceanic whitetip sharks decreased by 10-19% and 9%, respectively. Prior to fishing effort redistribution, bycatch reductions accrued to 21-41% and 14% for silky and oceanic whitetip sharks, respectively. Our results are consistent with previous findings and demonstrate the high potential for reducing elasmobranch bycatch in the EPO without compromising catch rates of target tuna species. They also highlight the need to consider new dynamic and adaptive management measures to more efficiently fulfill conservation and sustainability objectives for exploited resources in the EPO.

Abstract The age‐structured assessment model available in the MSEtool R package assesses stock status and exploitation for varying data availability, from limited to rich datasets. We investigated model accuracy in relation to data availability, population exploitation levels, initial population assumption and fishery selectivity misspecification. Estimates were accurate in all conditions when data were available for a stock in an unfished state. However, for estimates to be accurate without complete exploitation data, total catch and abundance index data needed to span more than two stock generations. When the data time series was shorter than two generations, fishery mean lengths spanning one generation improved relative estimates (e.g. depletion), but precise estimates of unfished recruitment required fishery age‐ or length‐structured data.

Abstract Nearly 70,000 fishing crew are currently at sea catching the ecolabeled tuna in your sandwich or sushi. Their catch equals half of the world’s tuna supply. The purpose of this research was to collect tuna data from the website of the Marine Stewardship Council (fisheries/msc.org) to learn what the data reveal about protecting tuna fishers from labour violations while fishing on certified vessels. The standard-setter does not have a fishing labour standard but posts data to its website (fisheries/msc.org) it says demonstrate that vessels in the program operate with well-managed labour risks. To confirm this, a database of 3260 tuna vessels was built from vessel lists, annual catches, and labour statements and queried for fishing job identifiers. Fishing employers (vessel owners) were identified in the vessel data for 1291 vessels representing 26% of the ecolabeled tuna catch. In labour statements, employers were identified for 1238 vessels and 14% of the tuna catch. Flag state labour laws were identified for 1617 vessels and 50% of the tuna catch. Few tuna vessels were owned by the certificate-holding entities (4%) that submitted labour statements and these data were scant on vessel practices. Certificate-holders disavowed debt bondage, forced and child labour as “non-applicable” on MSC-engaged vessels overall. Jobs, risks, and vessel employment practices could not be tracked from the data. Seven vessels currently listed in the program were reported by fishers for forced labour. Yet, all owners of certified vessels gain logo rights and benefits, due to certification’s pooling mechanism.

Abstract Drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) are human‐made floating objects widely used by tropical tuna purse seine (PS) fisheries to increase catch of target species. However, dFAD use has several negative impacts, including increased potential for overfishing, higher juvenile tuna catch, higher bycatch compared to other PS fishing modes, ghost‐fishing, and generation of marine litter. Based on these impacts, some stakeholders, especially environmental non‐governmental organizations and other competing fishing industries, suggest that dFADs should be completely banned. We list the pros and cons of dFAD fishing; address how to improve current management; and suggest solutions for the sustainability of dFAD fishing in the long term. A dFAD ban would lead to major changes in the availability and sourcing of tuna for human consumption and decrease the licensing revenue received by many developing states. Most importantly, we argue that tools exist today to manage for, reduce or eliminate most of the negative impacts of dFADs (e.g., bans on discards, limits on active dFADs, biodegradable non‐entangling constructions, time‐area deployment closures, recovery programs, and full data transparency, among others). Management decisions based on sound scientific reasoning are needed to address the legitimate concerns surrounding dFAD use and ensure the sustainability of both pelagic and coastal ecosystems and tropical tuna PS fisheries.

Abstract A method is proposed to estimate and correct athwart-beam distortion of multibeam sonars to advance sonar-based abundance estimation. We illustrate its application using data from a Simrad SN90 multibeam sonar aboard a tropical tuna purse-seiner, targeting mixed fish aggregations around drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) in the Atlantic Ocean. To calculate the distortion in the horizontal swath, athwart-beam measurements were compared with the more accurate simultaneous along-beam measurements. For the vertical swath correction, we used as reference a vertically oriented single, split beam echosounder simultaneously monitoring the same aggregations. Along-to-athwart ratios of ∼0.6 and ∼0.3 were estimated for the horizontal and vertical swaths, respectively, at ranges involved during purse-seine operations in this fleet (from ∼225 to ∼325 m). Additionally, equations were developed to analytically describe the athwart distortion due to overlap between contiguous beams. Once corrected for distortion, typical school morphology measures were provided for tuna aggregations around dFADs.

Fishing activity is closely monitored to an increasing degree, but its effects on biodiversity have not received such attention. Using iconic and well-studied fish species such as tunas, billfishes, and sharks, we calculate a continuous Red List Index of yearly changes in extinction risk over 70 years to track progress toward global sustainability and biodiversity targets. We show that this well-established biodiversity indicator is highly sensitive and responsive to fishing mortality. After ~58 years of increasing risk of extinction, effective fisheries management has shifted the biodiversity loss curve for tunas and billfishes, whereas the curve continues to worsen for sharks, which are highly undermanaged. While populations of highly valuable commercial species are being rebuilt, the next management challenge is to halt and reverse the harm afflicted by these same fisheries to broad oceanic biodiversity.