Almost all commercial tuna comes from ‘healthy’ stocks, report says

Nearly all the world’s total commercial tuna catch now comes from “healthy” stocks, according to the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation’s (ISSF) latest report.

In its Status of the World Fisheries for Tuna report, the ISSF said there has been a 10% rise in the amount of tuna caught from stocks with “healthy” abundance levels, with the number now standing at 97%, and 100% of the global catch now comes from stocks “not experiencing overfishing”.

Both figures represent the highest levels ever reported by the organisation.

The ISSF said the findings indicate tuna fisheries are not only healthy, but are “being harvested at sustainable levels”.

“These results did not happen by chance,” said Victor Restrepo, ISSF VP of science and chair of the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee. “They reflect many years of sustained investment in science-based fisheries management – including improved data, stock assessments methods, and management frameworks – the adoption of harvest strategies, and stronger oversight by tuna regional fisheries management organisations.”

According to Restrepo, when ISSF first began reporting the metrics in 2011, the amount of tuna caught from healthy stocks accounted for just 70% and only 71% came from stocks not experiencing overfishing.

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In its other findings, the report found 74% of the world’s 23 major tuna stocks are at a “healthy level of abundance”, despite the global catch of albacore, bigeye, bluefin, skipjack, and yellowfin having increased 11% in 2024 to 5.8 million tonnes.

Skipjack tuna accounted for more than half of the global catch (58%), whilst yellowfin, bigeye, albacore and bluefin varieties made up 30%, 7%, 4% and 1%, respectively.

Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack, Indian Ocean skipjack, and Indian Ocean yellowfin represented the largest catches in tonnes.

Restrepo added: “The progress we see today is the result of long-term, co-ordinated efforts.”