World Tuna Day

Since the onset of large-scale commercial exploitation in the 1950s, global tuna catches have steadily risen, reaching 1 million tonnes in the mid-1960s, 2 million tonnes in the mid-1980s, 3 million tonnes in 1990, 4 million tonnes in the late 1990s, 5 million tonnes in 2014, and finally topping out at 5.4 million tonnes in 2019. The global tuna catch has been stable at around 5 million tonnes since then. In 2023, the latest available data, the global tuna catch was approximately 5.2 million tonnes. The majority of tuna catches are attributed to skipjack tuna (57 percent), followed by yellowfin tuna (31 percent), bigeye tuna (7 percent), albacore tuna (4 percent), and three species of bluefin tuna (1 percent). In terms of fishing methods, purse seining accounts for 66 percent of global tuna catches, while longlines (9 percent), pole-and-line (7 percent), gillnets (4 percent) and other miscellaneous gea...

  About 51  percent of the world’s production of tuna is from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) – FAO Major Fishing Areas 61, 71 and 81. Provisional catches of skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna in 2023 were 2 490 300 tonnes, a 2 percent decrease from 2022; and provisional catches of North Pacific albacore tuna, South Pacific albacore tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna were 120 000 tonnes, a 25 percent decrease from 2022. Note that despite catches of North Pacific albacore tuna, South Pacific albacore tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna occurring throughout the entire Pacific Ocean (i.e. in both the IATTC and WCPFC areas), they are reported under this section dealing with the WCPFC. The catch of tropical tunas in the WCPO steadily and continuously increased by around half a million tonnes per decade since the 1960s, reaching 1 million tonnes in 1984, 1.5 million tonnes in 1994, and 2 million tonnes in 2005, before peaking...

On May 2nd ; The World Tuna Day 2025 will be observed to raise awareness about the importance of tuna conservation and sustainable fishing practices. The day will highlight the vital role tuna plays in global food security, economic development, and marine biodiversity and address the concerns about overexploitation of tuna species.  To participate to the  World Tuna Day , Please Register to the virtual-event!  

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission ( WCPFC ) was established by the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPF Convention) which entered into force on 19 June 2004.  The 21st Regular Session of the WCPF was held from 28 Nov 2024 to 3 Dec 2024 in Suva, Fiji.