IOTC

What IOTC does

IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission / Commission des Thons de l'Océan Indien) is an intergovernmental organization established under the IOTC Agreement and associated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It is responsible for the management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean, promoting cooperation among its Contracting Parties (Members) and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties to ensure conservation, appropriate utilization of fish stocks, and sustainable development of fisheries. Its mandate is to address overfishing, illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the absence of coordinated management across national jurisdictions through binding conservation and management measures.

IOTC operates a portfolio of web-based platforms rather than a unified commercial product suite. These include the E-PSM application for managing Port State Measures and requests to enter port (AREP); e-MARIS (Open e-MARIS) for maritime information and reference data; e-RAV for managing the Record of Authorised Vessels and IUU vessel lists; e-DFAD for tracking Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices; Statdoc Validation for statistical documentation of tuna catches and trade; an Interactive Data Browser for publicly available fishery statistics; and a Fishery ID Wizard for classifying IOTC fisheries. IOTC Data Reporting Forms became mandatory in 2025, standardizing metadata and data fields submitted by member countries.

IOTC is not a commercial enterprise. It is funded by member contributions from Contracting Parties and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties, with no commercial pricing model or revenue mechanics. Its distribution and engagement channels consist of direct member-state engagement, digital data platforms, official circulars, scientific committee and working party meetings, and a public document repository. No parent-subsidiary structure, funding rounds, or M&A activity are associated with the organization.

Name

IOTC

Legal name

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

Website

https://iotc.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) is an FAO-associated intergovernmental organization that manages tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean. It serves Contracting Parties, Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties, and authorized fishing vessels through a portfolio of web-based compliance, vessel, and data reporting platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Fisheries Management

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Foreign Governments (8888), Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro primary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Tuna fisheries management
• Regional fisheries governance
• Marine data reporting
• Vessel authorization registry
• Fisheries compliance monitoring

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IOTC operates a portfolio of web-based platforms and data management systems that support the regional governance of tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean. Its core deliverables include electronic registers for authorized vessels and drifting fish aggregating devices, port state measures applications, statistical documentation validation, and an interactive data browser for publicly available fishery statistics. These tools enable member countries to report catch, effort, and biological data, monitor compliance with binding conservation measures, and conduct science-based stock assessments under a coordinated intergovernmental framework.

Product overview

IOTC is an intergovernmental organization, not a commercial software company. It does not offer a unified SaaS product with distinct modules. Instead, IOTC operates a portfolio of web-based platforms and data portals that support tuna and tuna-like fishery management in the Indian Ocean. These platforms are: the e-PSM (Electronic Port State Measures) application for port entry requests; the e-MARIS platform providing open access to maritime information; the e-RAV (Register of Vessels) for managing vessel records; the e-DFAD register for tracking Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices; the Statdoc Validation system for statistical documentation; and the Interactive Data Browser for accessing publicly available fishery statistics. These platforms function as independent web tools rather than a cohesive product suite with modular add-ons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• E-PSM Application Web-based application for managing Port State Measures, allowing vessels to submit requests to enter ports (AREP - Request to Enter Port) and facilitating compliance monitoring under IOTC resolutions.
• e-MARIS (Open e-MARIS) Open platform providing access to maritime information related to IOTC fisheries management, including reference data and code lists in tabular or geospatial formats.
• e-RAV (Register of Vessels) Online register for managing IOTC vessel records, including authorized vessels, carrier vessels, active vessels, and IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) vessel lists.
• e-DFAD (IOTC DFAD Register) Register for tracking Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (DFADs) used in tuna fisheries within the IOTC Area of Competence.
• Statdoc Validation Online system for validating statistical documentation related to tuna and tuna-like species catches, supporting the IOTC Statistical Document Programme.
• Interactive Data Browser Interactive web-based tool allowing users to browse, query, and export publicly available IOTC fishery statistics datasets.
• Fishery ID Wizard Wizard-based tool for identifying and classifying IOTC fisheries based on species, gear type, and other parameters.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NEAFC (North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission): NEAFC is an OMRF-style RFMO managing non-tuna straddling stocks in the North-East Atlantic with port state measures, vessel authorization, and compliance machinery broadly analogous to IOTC's framework.
• IATTC (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission): IATTC oversees tuna stocks in the eastern Pacific Ocean with comparable functions: vessel registry, catch documentation, stock assessments, and binding conservation measures for member states — directly analogous to IOTC's remit in the Indian Ocean.
• GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean): GFCM is an FAO-hosted RFMO managing Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries with binding measures, vessel records, and data reporting frameworks. Comparable institutional architecture to IOTC, though focused on demersal and small-pelagic species rather than tuna.
• WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission): WCPFC manages tuna fisheries across the world's largest ocean area, operating with a similar intergovernmental structure, vessel register (Record of Fishing Vessels), compliance framework, and scientific working-party system as IOTC.
• ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas): ICCAT is the tuna-focused RFMO for the Atlantic Ocean with the same mandate as IOTC — managing tuna and tuna-like species through binding conservation measures, vessel records, and statistical documentation. Structurally and functionally the closest peer to IOTC.
• CCSBT (Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna): CCSBT is a smaller tuna-specific RFMO with overlapping mandate, catch documentation scheme, vessel record, and member-funded structure. Highly comparable in scope, though narrower in species coverage than IOTC.

Regional players

• SIOFA (Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement): SIOFA is a smaller RFMO operating in the southern Indian Ocean with overlapping geographic scope to IOTC, managing non-tuna bottom fisheries. It uses a similar intergovernmental compliance framework but covers different species and a more limited area.

Broad incumbents

• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations): FAO hosts IOTC (evidenced by [email protected] email domains and the FAO logo on iotc.org). While FAO is not a direct tuna-management peer, it is the umbrella UN body providing legal, administrative, and secretariat infrastructure for IOTC.

Emerging players

• Global Fishing Watch: Global Fishing Watch provides vessel-tracking and IUU-detection data analytics for global fisheries, including IOTC-area tuna fleets. It is an emerging data-driven complement to IOTC's regulatory vessel register (e-RAV) and port state measures (e-PSM).
• MSC (Marine Stewardship Council): MSC is a private sustainability certification body whose tuna fisheries standards rely directly on RFMO data (including IOTC's stock assessments). Comparability is in the data/ecosystem adjacent space rather than as a direct governance peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iotc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IOTC