The Catch of Tropical Tunafish in Indian Ocean (IO).
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About 23 percent of the world’s tuna production comes from the Indian Ocean (IO) – FAO Major Fishing Areas 51 and 57–making it the second most important region for tuna fishing after the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Catches of skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tuna in 2023 totaled approximately 1 237 000 tonnes, a 1 percent decrease from 2022. The total catch generally declined after 2005, when a record 1.25 million tonnes were caught, followed by an increase in recent years which has brought catches back to 2005 levels (FIGURE E.1.16). Catches of southern bluefin tuna occur primarily in the IO Area of Competence. However, due to their distribution across three oceans, this stock is covered below under a separate section on the CCSBT convention area. The catch of tropical tunas and albacore tuna in the IO steadily increased, reaching 200 000 tonnes in the early 1980s. It then rose rapidly to 500 000 tonnes in 19...