The United Nations marked the first World Tuna Day on Tuesday with calls to conserve one of the globe's most popular fish to be caught and eaten. As migratory tuna species account for 20 percent of the value of all marine capture fisheries and over eight percent of all globally traded seafood, the inaugural celebration by the United Nations of World Tuna Day is an important step in recognizing the critical role of tuna to sustainable development, food security, economic opportunity, and livelihoods of people around the world.
Marking the first World Tuna Day with a call protect precious tuna resources and their surrounding ecosystems, the UN Legal Counsel today strongly urges long-term conservation and sustainable use of those resources, important for the global achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
General Assembly President Peter Thomson said that tuna species, which are highly migratory, account for 20 percent of the value of all fish caught and over 8 percent of all internationally traded seafood. He noted that nearly two-thirds of the tuna found in restaurants and supermarkets around the world come from the Pacific Ocean. "Regrettably, with the decline in the health of the oceans, the fish stocks including tuna face growing threats and an uncertain future," the former Fijian ambassador said in a statement.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the tuna trade "a significant contributor to the global economy," saying that more than 80 countries have tuna fisheries and that thousands of tuna fishing vessels operate in all the oceans. "However, increasing threats resulting from human activities, such as overfishing, and the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification ... impact the conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks," he said.
Dujarric urged people everywhere to "commit to protecting our precious tuna resources and their surrounding ecosystems and using these resources sustainably for generations to come." In December, the General Assembly established May 2 as World Tuna Day to reinforce its importance to nations around the globe.
Thomson, the assembly president, called it "an important step in recognising the critical role of tuna to sustainable development, food security, economic opportunity, and livelihoods of people around the world." Both Thomson and Dujarric said the day also highlights the importance of the Ocean Conference to be held at U.N. headquarters June 5-9 to support the U.N. goal for 2030 to conserve and sustainably use the world's oceans, seas and marine resources
According to the UN, more than 80 States currently have tuna fisheries while thousands of tuna fishing vessels operate in all the oceans. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans, tuna fishery capacity is still growing. In the latest publication of The State World Fisheries and Aquaculture, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes there is a need for effective management to restore the overfished stocks including tuna. In the 2016 report, FAO registered new record catches for tuna. Total catches of tuna and tuna-like species were almost 7.7 million metric tonnes. FAO notices that market demand for tuna is still high and that the significant overcapacity of tuna fishing fleets remains.
Addressing the decline in tuna stocks resulting from overfishing in the world’s oceans, the UN Legal Counsel emphasizes the critical importance of effectively implementing the international legal framework, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, widely known as UNCLOS, which has been strengthened by the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, recommendations of its Review Conference, annual General Assembly resolutions on sustainable fisheries, as well as other efforts by the international community at the global, regional and national levels.
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