Posted on June, 17 2013

Tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific have taken important steps to promote sustainable management. The important Maldives tuna pole and line skipjack fishery is the first Indian Ocean tuna fishery to receive Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. Pole and line fishing for tuna in the Maldives is a highly selective, low-impact fishing method, supporting over 20,000 fishermen and their families. The Fijian Albacore Tuna Longline Fishery also gained MSC certification – recognised as the best available market incentive to drive fisheries towards sustainability. Worldwide, 300 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme, with annual catches of around 10 million tonnes of seafood, or more than 11 per cent of the annual global harvest of wild- caught fish.