How are coral reef monitoring programmes helping fisheries management in Seychelles? Jan Robinson of the Seychelles Fishing Authority and Tim Daw of the University of Newcastle, UK, make some suggestions.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), accidental catch  or by-catch  is probably the single greatest threat to marine turtles. As many as 200,000 Loggerheads and 50,000 Leatherback Turtles are caught annually by commercial long-line tuna, swordfish, and similar fisheries. WWF has been working with Mustad, the world's largest manufacturer of fishing hooks, to greatly reduce this problem by producing circle hooks for commercial fisheries.

Most countries depend on tuna fish. But are we fishing it sustainably? In an attempt to provide answers to this vital question, a major project, the Regional Tuna Tagging Project (RTTP), is underway to increase what is known about this staple part of so many diets and economies. It involves putting small plastic tags on tens of thousands of fish, putting them back in the ocean, and - hopefully - recovering them. No small challenge. Project Publicity and Tag Recovery Officer Teresa Athayde takes up the story.

News in brief from Aride, Bird, Cousine and Fregate in the second half of 2005.