World Tuna Day

International Tuna Day is marked on May 2 to raise awareness of tuna fish and its value to people and the environment. The day also raises awareness of the value of sustainable fishing methods and informs people worldwide about how the great demand for tuna flesh has led to the species' decline. For those who are unaware, tuna is vital for both developed and developing countries since it is not only a substantial food supply but also has incredible nutritional value.

History

The United Nations General Assembly created World Tuna Day in December 2016 with the intention of protecting endangered species. With its resolution 71/124, the UN general assembly formally decided to celebrate the day. The inaugural World Tuna Day was celebrated in 2017. The UN estimates that tuna and species that resemble tuna are fished annually at a rate of about 7 million metric tonnes.

Significance

The goal of World Tuna Day is to raise public awareness of the overfishing of tuna and the value of preserving the environment and food chain. There are tuna fisheries in more than 80 nations, and both their size and capacity are continually expanding. Some tuna species are currently at risk of extinction. This is a result of tuna overfishing. Nowadays, tuna fishing is practiced in over 96 nations, and each nation's capability continues to increase daily.

Theme 2023

Sure We Can is the MSC's World Tuna Day theme for 2023. For the benefit of future generations, we must protect our precious tuna resources. 

Why is World Tuna Day necessary?

The major food product tuna suffers a variety of difficulties. Overfishing due to rising demand. According to the most recent industry estimates, 13% and 22% of tuna populations, respectively, are overfished.

Bycatch issues, including the capture and entanglement of sharks, marine mammals, and seabirds, can be linked to tuna fishing. Depending on how the fishing equipment is used and where the tuna is caught, various fisheries have quite diverse effects.

Fisheries need strong management, efficient enforcement, and decreases in catching undesirable or endangered species or bycatch for tuna stocks to flourish.

As a result, it may take years of upgrades and changes before fisheries are independently evaluated and awarded MSC certification.

The goal of World Tuna Day is to hasten the protection of tuna's future.

What steps are taken to safeguard tuna?

Overall, more than half of the world's tuna catch has received MSC certification for sustainability or is working towards it:

• Now, around 30% of all catches are MSC-certified.

• The MSC Fisheries Standard is being independently audited against more than 20% of the volume of the world's tuna catch.

• Fisheries improvement project (FIP), an effort that puts fisheries on a road towards sustainability, takes about 20% of the world's tuna harvest.