The Coral Triangle is a tuna spawning ground—the nursery of the seas—also providing nursery grounds and migratory routes for southern bluefin, bigeye, yellowfin, skipjack and albacore tunas from the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, where most of the world's tuna catch occurs.
Irreplaceable resource
Caught, traded, shipped and eaten around the world, tuna is an irreplaceable resource for developed and developing countries globally. Between 1950 and 2006, about 27.5 million tonnes of tuna were caught by fishing fleets operating in Coral Triangle countries.
In addition, an abundance of small tuna species such as frigate, bullet and the bonito provide vital sustenance to millions of people in the Coral Triangle, while they also serve as prey for the larger tuna.
Tuna taken out of the sea faster than stocks can support
The fishing industry is scrambling to supply growing international demand for tuna. This puts more pressure on heavily-fished stocks, such as yellowfin tuna in the Western and Central and Indian oceans as fleets move in from depleted fishing areas.
If the current level of fishing continues or increases, these stocks will collapse. The result? Loss of revenue and reduced food security in some parts of the world.
Current management of tuna fisheries is not working
International laws and standards support sustainable fisheries management, and are applicable to tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and their member states.
But in reality, tuna RFMOs have been unable to prevent overexploitation of tuna, rebuild depleted stocks, or protect the wider ecosystem.
