Data released today by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) shows surging demand, sales and production of certified sustainable tuna on a global scale. The new figures from the world’s leading sustainable seafood label have been published ahead of this World Tuna Day, Monday 2nd May.
The MSC is forecasting record sales of tuna with the blue MSC label – 130,000 tonnes in 2021/22, more than double the amount sold five years ago (50,000 tonnes). This growth has been supported by new, company-wide commitments from retail and seafood giants including Lidl, Aldi, Edeka, Rio Mare, Followfood, Waitrose, Walmart and John West Australia to source only sustainable tuna.
Increases in sales of sustainable tuna have also been supported by fishing companies investing in more sustainable fishing practices, reducing the environmental impacts of tuna fishing to achieve MSC certification, giving buyers and consumers assurance of the sustainability of their catch. The total global MSC certified tuna catch reached a record of almost 2 million tonnes in 2021/22 compared to less than 1 million tonnes in 2017/18.
“The surging sales of MSC certified sustainable tuna show a real positive shift in the way tuna is caught,” says Nicolas Guichoux, Chief Programme Officer at the MSC. “Consumer and retailer demand for sustainable tuna, together with more eco-friendly fishing operations have resulted in a rapid shift in the way tuna is caught globally.”
In total 39% of the world’s commercial tuna catch is now certified as sustainable to the MSC Standard. However, this progress could be undermined if international governance in the Western Central Pacific fails to adopt a long-term strategy to ensure the continued health of the world’s most commercially important tuna stock. The Western Central Pacific is home to more than half the world’s skipjack tuna, and 86% of MSC certified sustainable tuna catches.
Despite the region’s strong track-record in sustainable fishing resulting in healthy tuna stocks, long term certification of tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific will require the 26 nations responsible tuna fishing in the region to agree to rules aimed at ensuring stocks never become overfished.
“Tuna swim vast distances – they are truly international. Therefore, sustainably managing tuna requires agreement between governments at an international level,” says Guichoux. “Ongoing sustainable certification of all tuna fisheries is therefore conditional on joint strategies to prevent tuna stocks from ever becoming overfished. These strategies are notoriously difficult for international management organisations to agree because they require multilateral agreement on future catch reductions should healthy stocks ever start to decline. We are urging members of the Western Pacific Fisheries Commission to support the adoption of these rules to ensure the long term health of this vital tuna stock and also the incredible commitments made by retailers and consumers to choose tuna with the highest assurance of sustainability.”
Facts about tuna and the Western Central Pacific
Skipjack is the most commonly consumed tuna species, sold canned in sandwiches and salads. It represents 60% of the world’s tuna catch. 58% of the world’s skipjack comes from the Western Central Pacific Ocean.
Tuna fishing in the Western Central Pacific Ocean is managed by 26 member states of the Western Central Pacific Tuna Commission which includes some of the world’s richest countries alongside small island nations. This regional fisheries management organisation is responsible for more than half the world’s tuna catch.
More than half the tuna caught in the Western Central Pacific Ocean comes from waters controlled by the small island nations in the Parties of the Nauru Islands Agreement (PNA) which include Palau, Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu. These nations have made a commitment to managing their tuna sustainably.