The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its latest “Status of the Stocks” report, which shows that most tuna catches come from healthy stocks.
According to the report, 87% of the global tuna catch comes from stocks at a “healthy” abundance level.
The report also stated that overfished stocks are declining; currently, only 2% of the global catch comes from these stocks, down from 10% in the previous report.
The report also noted that 65% of tuna stocks are at healthy abundance levels, while the percentage of overfished stocks has decreased to 9%.
Stocks with intermediate abundance now represent 26%. –
Fishing mortality has improved, with 91% of stocks not experiencing overfishing, resulting in an overall reduction in overfishing to about 4%. –
Purse seining remains the dominant method for tuna catches, accounting for 66%, followed by longline, pole-and-line, gillnets, and other gear types. –
The largest tuna catches have remained consistent, with the five largest species being Western Pacific skipjack, Western Pacific yellowfin, Indian Ocean skipjack, Indian Ocean yellowfin, and Eastern Pacific skipjack. –
The total tuna catch in 2023 was 5.2 million tons, reflecting a 1% decrease from 2022, with skipjack and yellowfin making up most of the catch. (By: Bernadette Carreon)