(disponible en anglais uniquement)

Tuna tagging helps Pacific islands face uncertain future

An expedition to monitor the health of the world’s largest tuna fishery concluded on October 2nd. It tagged more than 6,000 tuna during a seven-week voyage in the Pacific Ocean, thanks to support from the fishing and technology sectors.

With most international tourism shut down because of covid-19, many Pacific island countries are even more dependent on the region’s tuna fisheries, valued at around US$6bn in 2018. For many of the countries, licence fees for tuna-fishing in the western and central Pacific account for over half of government income. The tuna industry also provides 25,000 jobs across the region, according to the region’s sustainable development body, the Pacific Community (SPC).

Read the full article on the World Ocean Initiative - The Economist website at econ.st/2SM8Y5J.