ISSF ProActive Vessel Register
Longline Guidebook
- Table of Contents
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter Objectives
- Section 1: Sea Turtles
- Sea Turtle Identification
- Mitigating Turtle Bycatch
- Other Mitigation Methods
- Best Practices Infographic
- Examples of Hooked Turtles
- Dehooking or Untangling a Turtle
- Tools for Turtle Handling
- Dehooking or Untangling Techniques in Water
- Dehooking or Untangling Techniques on Board
- Turtle Recovery and Release
- Section 2: Seabirds
- Commonly Encountered Seabirds
- Identifying Seabirds
- Seabird Species
- Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Measures
- Bird-Scaring Lines
- Night Setting
- Weighted Branch Lines
- Line Weighting Smart Gear Prize
- Hook Shielding and Bait Setting Devices
- Other Measures
- Handling and Release
- Hook Removal and Seabird Recovery
- Seabird Interactions and Best Practices
- Section 3: Sharks
- Commonly Encountered Sharks
- Shark Bycatch and RFMOs
- Shark Bycatch Mitigation Measures
- Shark Anatomy, Handling, and Release
- Releasing Sharks Caught in Pelagic Longline Fisheries
- Proper Handling of Sharks
- Incorrect Shark Handling and Release
- Final Notes
- Chapter 3
- Chapter Objectives
- International Organizations and Instruments
- Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
- Western And Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
- International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
- Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
- Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna
- Further Notes on Data Reporting and Compliance
- Conclusion
- Feedback Form
- Copyright
The ProActive Vessel Register, or PVR, is one of the public vessel lists that ISSF provides to foster transparency in tuna fishing. This list connects responsible fishers and seafood companies. Fishing vessels can register on the PVR to show how they are following practices that support sustainable tuna fisheries.
The PVR tracks detailed vessel information, including with respect to certain fishing activities. MRAG Americas, a third-party independent auditor, audits all vessels that join the PVR.
Longline and purse seine vessels that register on the PVR also need to ensure that their skippers do one of the following:
- Attend an in-person and/or online ISSF Skippers Workshop on bycatch mitigation practices, or
- Attend an in-person Skippers Workshop provided by a tuna Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) and conducted by a trainer that has been accredited by ISSF to conduct these workshops; or
- View an ISSF Skippers Workshop video online; or
- Review the relevant ISSF Skippers’ Guidebook, which contains information on bycatch handling and mitigation, RFMO requirements, and other useful information about fishing sustainably. Skippers’ Guidebooks can be read online at or downloaded from this site.
If you are assigned to a longline vessel on the PVR, the following Webpage will display those actions that the vessel has committed to undertaking as part of joining the PVR: https://www.iss-foundation.org/vessel-and-company-commitments/proactive-vessel-register/proactive-vessel-register-pvr/pvr-vessel-list/
These actions, known as ISSF Conservation Measures, are detailed in the following section.
Other ISSF Public Vessel Lists
Other ISSF public vessel lists are:
- Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI): The VOSI is the only publicly available list of tuna fishing vessels that are part of a Fishery Improvement Project or fishing in an MSC-certified fishery. Other voluntary efforts by fishing vessels are also displayed, such as having Electronic Monitoring systems (EMS) that meet the minimum standards. This list is a tuna-sourcing tool for seafood companies.
- Tuna Vessel IMOs and Other UVI Numbers (IMO/UVI): This comprehensive list shows tuna vessels with either International Maritime Organization (IMO) or other Unique Vessel Identifier (UVI) numbers. IMO and UVI numbers help to reduce illegal fishing activities.
- Record of Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels (LSPSR): The LSPSR lists all large-scale purse-seine vessels fishing for tuna that are compliant with ISSF capacity conservation measures. This consolidated global view of the large-scale purse-seine fleet supports both ISSF and RFMO efforts to prevent overfishing.