Rays of hope for sustainable tuna
Canned tuna has been a great ally in our pantries around the world. Tuna is rich in Omega-3 and it also contains minerals, proteins, and vitamin B12, among other advantages.
Due to its amazing qualities, tuna became threatened by overwhelming demand and overfishing.
However, since the UN General Assembly designated May 2 as World Tuna Day 9 years ago to highlight the importance of responsible tuna fishing, significant progress has been made: In 2017, only 75% of the tuna catch came from healthy stocks free of overfishing; today, that figure exceeds 90%. For instance, Atlantic Bluefin tuna, once absent, are now common again in southern England and Ireland.
This recovery is thanks to coordinated efforts by governments through the five tuna regional fisheries management organizations supported by the . Their success stems from adopting management procedures—rules agreed upon by scientists, managers, and fishers before fishing begins.
Sustainable tuna fishing by 2027
aims to ensure that all major tuna stocks are fished at sustainable levels by 2027. This ambitious goal is part of its efforts towards more sustainable tuna fishing and biodiversity conservation. The data is encouraging. Out of the 23 tuna stocks, only two stocks are still being overfished according to the latest numbers.
Maintain optimism, but also vigilance
However, vigilance remains essential. The - commonly known as “High Seas Treaty”- reflects growing efforts to protect marine biodiversity, but challenges persist.
Climate change affects tuna reproduction and pushes them farther out to sea, raising costs and threatening coastal livelihoods in often poor coastal communities. Preventing seabirds, sharks, whales and turtles becoming accidentally caught in nets and on hooks as bycatch is also an ongoing struggle – many species of the iconic albatross are threatened with extinction, largely, but not only due to getting caught on fishers’ hooks.
Ongoing global cooperation is key to achieving truly sustainable tuna fisheries and preparing for the challenges ahead.
Let's be optimistic about the tuna of tomorrow.
Did you know?
- Out of the 23 tuna stocks, only two stocks are still being overfished according to the latest data. In 2017, 33.3 percent of the stocks were estimated to be fished at biologically unsustainable levels.
- Two thirds of the principal tuna species caught for food are caught in the Pacific Ocean, 23 percent from the Indian Ocean and the remaining 11 percent is caught in the Atlantic.
- Tuna fish are warm blooded apex predators that can dive deep for food and swim up to 43 kilometers an hour when hunting or escaping predators.
- They are highly migratory with some tuna species travelling thousands of miles oceans. Some Pacific bluefin tuna migrate over 6,000 nautical miles. They also travel in schools up to 19 miles wide.
