The Community has by Decision 95/399/EC(7) approved the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. This agreement provides a useful framework for closer international cooperation and rational use of tunas and related species in the Indian Ocean by setting up the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, hereinafter called the "IOTC", and adopting recommendations on conservation and management in the IOTC area which become binding on the Contracting Parties.
