Retailers Refuse Yellowfin Tuna, Sustainability Crucial

Ahead of the virtual 24^th session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting in early November, international supermarket chains have pulled the plug on yellowfin tuna products. Environmental groups support this because they say yellowfin tuna is fast depleting and a massive reduction in effort is essential for its recovery. South African retailers, on the other hand, have been ahead of the game for years…

The issues at hand are that yellowfin tuna remains overfished and subject to overfishing in the Indian Ocean. Catches continue to increase despite the recovery plan and catch reductions agreed in Resolution 19/01.

The catches of skipjack tuna also continue to increase and are 30% higher than the agreed harvest control rule.

Bigeye and albacore stocks are also overfished and are depleted.

That there are no complete management procedures in place for any key IOTC species, is of huge concern to environmental groups and stockists of tuna products.