How Sustainable Fishing Has Become A Priority For The Tuna Industry

The numbers for the tuna industry are sobering. One report, published in the journal Aquaculture and Fisheries, synthesized data and research from various tuna studies, including the findings from Fisheries Research, which quantified a 1000% increase in tuna harvesting over the last 60 years.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, more than 6 million metric tons of tuna fish are fished annually. In addition to the concern about the volume of the current catch is the vast expansion of the fishing grounds. In the 1950s, tuna was fished primarily in the Pacific Ocean, mostly in the waters off the coast of North and Central America, per NPR. Today, however, tuna is fished all over the world, the outlet explains. Anywhere tuna swim, even in the deep ocean, they are stalked by commercial fisheries.

To address this, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, in collaboration with advocacy groups, marine research projects, environmental organizations, among others, continues to push for sustainable fishing and conservation in the tuna industry. The foundation's 2021 annual report, titled "Transparent Accountability Across Tuna Industries," covers its efforts to further tuna and ocean conservation, SeafoodSource reports.

ISSF president Susan Jackson shared that transparency and accountability are only possible if people share data and information and work together, writing, "We can't make adjustments or fill gaps until we know where or why something is broken, what is missing, or whether previous actions or interventions have been effective."