The big disappointment was failure to reach agreement on a number of shark measures, especially requiring that all sharks be landed with fins naturally attached, which the U.S. proposed.
Compliance with ICCAT measures again received a lot of attention with nations agreeing that the records of the 47 member and 5 non-member nations be reviewed and action taken if found out of compliance. The U.S. remains the leader in keeping compliance an important issue that receives a significant amount of attention during the negotiations each year.