American Tunaboat Association (ATA) represents the owners and operators of the U.S. Pacific tuna purse seine fleet, the last true “distant-water fishing fleet” operating under U.S. flag.  The Association has been in existence since 1917.

The mission of today’s ATA is to maintain a strong and economically viable U.S.-flag tuna purse seine fleet by ensuring that the fleet continues to have access to international tuna fisheries of the Pacific Ocean on a fair and equitable basis.

Sustainable management of fisheries for tunas and other highly migratory species can only be achieved through concerted international action and cooperation to ensure that fleets from all nations operate under comparable standards.  To this end, ATA maintains an active and constructive engagement in the relevant international management bodies and negotiations to develop science-based conservation and management measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tuna resources of the Pacific Ocean and to mitigate the impacts of those activities on the broader marine environment.