26 February 2013: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a booklet, titled “Tuna: a global perspective,” which provides an overview of the economic and social value of tuna and tuna-like species, the management challenges facing these species and the role of FAO in this regard.

The booklet underlines that the 40 tuna and tuna-like species occurring in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea are a significant source of food and livelihoods. They are economically important to developed and developing countries, with the value-at-landing of the 2010 principal species catch reaching over US$10 billion. The booklet notes, however, that the main tuna stocks are currently more or less fully exploited, and calls for improved and strengthened fisheries management in order to ensure their future sustainability.

The Booklet then outlines the role of FAO in addressing the challenges faced by tuna fisheries, highlighting FAO’s contribution to the formulation and implementation of various global instruments, such as UN Fish Stocks Agreement and the Agreement and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It also describes the role of FAO in organizing global events, such as the meeting of all regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), which is held once every two years, and its role in helping to create RFMOs.

The Booklet provides an overview of FAO’s project work in support of the management of tuna fisheries and capture-based aquaculture, and highlights that FAO is currently leading a five-year programme on “Global Sustainable Fisheries Management and Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ).” [Publication: Tuna: A Global Perspective] [FAO Press Release]