World Tuna Day

   Tuna fisheries play a crucial role in global seafood production, providing food security, employment and economic value to many coastal nations. However, growing concerns related to unsustainable fishing, climate change, ecosystem impacts and mismanagement necessitate robust management approaches. Management strategy evaluation (MSE) and precautionary management procedures have emerged as a key tool for ensuring sustainable tuna stocks while balancing economic and ecological objectives. MSE tested management procedures for tunas have recently become an improved management tool in rebuilding tuna stocks and ensuring their long-term sustainability. MSE is a simulation-based framework that allows fisheries managers and stakeholders to test and evaluate the performance of different management options against pre-agreed management objectives before implementation. This process accounts for uncertainties in stock assessments, biological and environmental variability, as well as m...

Tuna is one of the world’s most popular fish – whether in sushi, sandwiches or salads – and it plays a big role in feeding people and supporting ocean health. That’s why World Tuna Day is so important: it’s a chance to recognise how vital tuna is and why choosing sustainably caught tuna matters. Half of the world’s wild tuna catch now comes from fisheries that meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) sustainability standard. That means they’re fishing in a way that protects tuna populations, minimises harm to ocean habitats, and helps ensure there’s enough tuna for future generations. The progress we’re seeing today is thanks to over 180 tuna fisheries around the world that are committed to sustainable practices. But that work needs to continue, and World Tuna Day is a great reminder that our everyday choices – like checking for the blue MSC label – really do count. Tuna is being protected through global efforts to ensure it’s fished sustainably: 54% of the global tuna catch is now...

The  International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) oversees the conservation and management of a variety of Atlantic marine species, including tunas, swordfish, marlin and sharks, and adopts measures to minimize bycatch of turtles and seabirds associated with these fisheries. This responsibility is shared among ICCAT’s 52 members, including the United States. Tuna  RFMOs are intergovernmental organizations that carry out data collection, scientific monitoring and management of tuna and tuna-like resources. Register to participate to the ICCAT/CICTA/CICAA upcoming meetings First Virtual Working Group on Sustainable Financial Position for ICCAT Meeting (VWG-SF) Online 10-13 Feb Working Group on Stock Assessment Methods Meeting (WGSAM) Hybrid, Madrid (Spain) 11-12 Feb Online Reporting Technology Working Group Meeting (WG-ORT) Online 4-6 Mar Panel 2 Intersessional Meeting Hybrid, Madrid (Spain) 10-14 Mar Shortfin Mako Shark Data Preparatory Meeting Hyb...

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) is the regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and tuna -like species, associated species and their ecosystems, throughout the Eastern Pacific Ocean, from Canada, in the north, to Chile, in the South. Tunas and similar species are highly mobile. They move freely therefore through maritime areas under different legal regimes, from one area under the national jurisdiction of a coastal State to that of another state and beyond to the high seas. In order to ensure an appropriate conservation of the stocks and their sustainable management , cooperation is therefore essential between all the interested parties. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has included tuna and tuna like species in the category of “ highly migratory species ” which are governed by the provisions of its Article 64 that establishes this duty to cooperate “ with a view to ensuring c...