Saving Seafood

An Overview of Tuna and its Sustainability in 2025

August 6, 2025 — Tuna is the third most consumed seafood in the United States. It’s eaten fresh, frozen, or in shelf-stable condition. It can be enjoyed on a budget or served in the most expensive fine dining restaurants. But how sustainable is tuna in 2025?

Like most seafood questions, tuna sustainability is full of nuance. The answer depends on which of the five species of tuna you’re eating, how it was caught, and where it came from.

This post gives an overview of tuna consumption and sustainability to help you make informed choices for your next trip down the canned tuna aisle or the next reservation at your favorite sushi restaurant.

Read the full article at Sustainable Fisheries UW

Outcry grows over questionable “vitamin tuna” treatment process

June 11, 2024 — Yellowfin and bigeye tuna steaks and loins sold across the United States – and likely Europe and other markets – are increasingly probable to be tainted with unlisted ingredients, including citric acid, beet extract, and sodium, according to three global seafood executives.

Up to 60 percent of yellowfin tuna steaks exported from Vietnam undergo a process through which they are injected with a saline solution and then bathed in a mixture of beet juice, paprika, and additives like sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid. After this, they are treated with carbon monoxide or a tasteless, or clear, smoke. The process vastly improves the coloration of lower-grade tuna and gives the product an added water weight that can increase its value by 15 to 20 percent, the executives said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

WPFMC trying to tackle suite of issues, criticizes lack of NOAA support

April 8, 2022 — The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) is trying to tackle multiple problems faced in its jurisdiction, including ineffective whale bycatch solutions, U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations, creating more-equitable fisheries, and issues regarding fishery rights in American Samoa.

The council has been working to tackle how to handle false killer whale bycatch in the region’s tuna fisheries – mainly in Hawai’i and American Samoa. In 2013, a plan to use weaker circle hooks that are 4.5 millimeters or less in diameter was created. The weaker hooks were supposed straighten and release whales caught while still remaining strong enough to hook bigeye tuna and other marketable fish species.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Scientists Say NMFS Study Determined to be Inconclusive in Western Pacific Longline Fishery

March 18, 2022 — Sorry, Charlie: Weak hooks in the Hawai’i deep-set longline fishery for bigeye tuna won’t reduce impacts to false killer whales, scientists said when they met virtually this week.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee found that a National Marine Fisheries Service 2021 “weak hook” study was inconclusive. Further, it did not provide scientific support for adopting weaker hooks as the primary strategy for reducing impacts to false killer whales, the WPRFMC said in a press release.

The study investigated the economic impacts of existing weak (4.5 mm diameter) and comparatively weaker (4.2 mm) hooks on target catch, primarily bigeye tuna. The study results showed the weight and value of bigeye tuna was higher for those caught on existing hooks than the weaker hooks.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Western Pacific Council Recommends New Approach for Pacific International Discussions

December 16, 2021 — Recent international Pacific tuna talks were deemed “unfavorable” for U.S. interests, according to fishery managers in Hawaii.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council had hoped to convince the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to almost double the Hawai‘i longline fishery bigeye tuna catch limits. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee supported it and the Council had worked on the increase for the past six years.

The U.S. delegation also asked the Commission to reduce the total catch on South Pacific albacore, with a goal of increasing albacore catch rates for fisheries such as American Samoa.

But the Commission disagreed. It disagreed with all of the U.S.-recommended changes.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Fishery Management Council Recommends a New US Strategy in the Pacific Islands with the WCPFC

December 10, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council discussed outcomes from the December Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting, including proposed protections on sharks, and conservation and management of South Pacific albacore and bigeye tuna. Despite scientific advice, the 18th WCPFC meeting ended without an agreement on increasing Hawai‘i longline fishery bigeye tuna catch limits, or reducing total catch on South Pacific albacore with a goal of increasing catch rates for fisheries such as American Samoa. The tone of the negotiations was unfavorable for U.S. interests.

The U.S. objectives included a 3,000 metric ton increase in the bigeye tuna catch limits for the Hawai‘i longline fishery, and that purse seine vessels based out of American Samoa, a small island developing state, have recognized privileges. The U.S. proposed prohibiting wire leaders on fishing gear to promote shark conservation and increasing observer coverage from 5% to 10%. None of these measures were adopted.

During Council deliberations, it was decided that a completely new strategy is needed for the U.S. government to tie in the geopolitical interests of U.S. fisheries in the Pacific through a high-level campaign with increased multi-federal agency engagement. Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds noted, “This can only be done by all federal agencies–Departments of State, Interior, Homeland Security and even Defense–working together well in advance of meetings to make the landscape workable for us at the WCPFC.”

For more information, visit https://meetings.wcpfc.int/meetings/wcpfc18.

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Regarding the proposed Northwestern Hawaiian Islands sanctuary designation, the Council discussed several considerations for potential noncommercial fishery regulations, including customary exchange. The initial discussion looked at Council-developed regulations in the Pacific marine national monuments and previous Council scoping in Hawai‘i.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries initiated the public process in November 2021, and the Council is formally consulted to provide fishery regulations. The Council will provide NOAA with a response in advance of its March 31, 2022, deadline.

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The Council discussed the feasibility of a limited cultural take for honu (green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas) in the main Hawaiian Islands. Dave Hogan, U.S. State Department, told the Council that the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC) and protection under the Endangered Species Act are both barriers to proceeding with consideration of a cultural take for any area under the U.S. jurisdiction. The U.S. is party to the IAC that prohibits the intentional capture, retention or killing of, and domestic trade in, sea turtles, their eggs, parts or products. The IAC does allow for an economic subsistence exception, but not cultural take for indigenous use.

Manny Dueñas, Council vice chair for Guam, expressed his dismay, saying he believed in perpetuating culture, rather than “pickling it and putting it in a jar.” Council members from across the jurisdictions pressed the Council to pursue recognition of the indigenous cultural harvest of honu within the IAC.

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The Council continues to prioritize efforts to support equity and environmental justice (EEJ) for underserved communities in the Western Pacific Region, and recommended that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) use data to help characterize EEJ impacts region-wide.

At the Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting in October 2021, the Council presented regional EEJ approaches and needs alongside the North Pacific Council and NOAA. The CCC decided to convene a workshop ahead of the committee’s next meeting in May 2022. The Western Pacific Council is taking a lead role in the development of the workshop expected to be held in Hawai‘i in February 2022.

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A CCC subgroup on area-based management created a working definition for conservation to address the goals under the president’s America the Beautiful 30×30 initiative. The working definition of a conservation area is an 1) established, geographically defined area, with 2) planned management or regulation of environmentally adverse fishing activities, that 3) provides for the maintenance of biological productivity and diversity, ecosystem function and services (including seafood production).

The Council will send a letter to NMFS that conservation areas should: 1) be informed by empirical evidence and scientific veracity, 2) be adequately monitored and enforced, 3) be adaptive to address climate change—especially in the Pacific Islands, and 4) recognize existing subsistence and native rights.

The Council manages federal fisheries operating in waters offshore of the State of Hawai‘i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, the CNMI and the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Areas. The next meeting of the Council will be March 22-24, 2022.

 

US Request For More Bigeye Tuna Denied By Pacific Commission

December 9, 2021 — A drive to increase Hawaii longliners’ bigeye tuna quota has again fallen short at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The U.S. delegation to the WCPFC requested that its longline bigeye quota be increased by 3,000 metric tons, noting stocks appeared to not be overfished and were not unhealthy, so could withstand an increase in fishing levels.

The proposed increase to the bigeye quota was made during the WCPFC’s 18th annual session, which ended on Tuesday, but the agreement failed to get across the line. Instead, the commission opted to keep the status quo for the next two years.

WCPFC’s negotiations dictate fishing throughout the Pacific, which is home to some of the most valuable global fishing stocks. The commission’s members represent 26 economies, ranging from Japan and China to Fiji and Indonesia.

The Hawaii-based Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has supported raising U.S. catch limits for at least six years and was disappointed by the result, according to its executive director Kitty Simonds.

Read the full story at Honolulu Civil Beat

More Bigeye for Pacific Longliners? Scientists Say Yes, Along with Increased Monitoring

December 7, 2021 — U.S. fishery managers propose increasing its Pacific bigeye tuna annual catch limit and gets the Western Pacific Fishery management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee’s blessing.

The SSC discussed issues related to bigeye tuna management last week at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting and endorsed the U.S. proposal to increase its bigeye tuna catch from 3,554 metric tons to 6,554 metric tons for the U.S. longline fishery. That endorsement includes an increase in minimum observer coverage for Western and Central Pacific longline fisheries from 5% to 10%.

WCPFC analyses demonstrate the Pacific bigeye tuna stock may sustainably withstand a modest increase in longline catch for the Hawai‘i-based fishery, noting it operates in a region of low levels of biomass depletion, the Council said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Western Pacific Scientists Endorse US Proposal to Increase Bigeye Tuna Quota

December 3, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council this week discussed issues related to bigeye tuna management at the ongoing Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting. The SSC endorsed the U.S. proposal to increase its bigeye tuna catch from 3,554 metric tons to 6,554 metric tons for the U.S. longline fishery, and to increase the observer coverage minimum for WCPFC longline fisheries from 5% to 10%. WCPFC analyses demonstrate the Pacific bigeye tuna stock may sustainably withstand a modest increase in longline catch for the Hawai‘i-based fishery, noting it operates in a region of low levels of biomass depletion.

The SSC also endorsed the continuation of fishing agreements between Hawai‘i-based U.S. vessels and participating U.S. Pacific Island Territories, and the agreements’ formal recognition within the WCPFC. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the U.S. bigeye tuna quota can be exchanged between the Territories and Hawai‘i according to procedures established under the Council’s Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan.

The SSC heard the Hawai‘i and American Samoa longline catch rates were low during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic period. In Hawai‘i, bigeye tuna catch rates were well below historical levels, likely due to atypical La Nina oceanographic conditions. The SSC noted an ongoing study that found preliminary 2021 revenue was 84% higher than 2020 (March to August timeframe) largely due to significant price increases from supply limitations, and 35% higher than a 2015-2019 baseline.

Although the South Pacific albacore tuna stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing, the SSC was concerned that the American Samoa catch rates were the lowest on record—well below the rate needed to make the fishery viable. The SSC noted that a continuous downward trend of the stock coincides with declines of numerous Pacific Island fisheries and uncertainty in reported fishing capacity and catches of South Pacific albacore.

The WCPFC is responsible for the waters around Hawai‘i and the U.S. Pacific Islands. The member countries, including the United States, aim to reach consensus annually on conservation and management measures such as catch limits for tropical tunas and billfish, and spatial fishing effort limits.

Regarding area-based management, the SSC endorsed a work plan from a committee subgroup and expects to have an outline for a policy-focused paper in March 2022 about domestic and international issues impacting Western Pacific Region fisheries. The SSC working group aims to provide advice on using area-based management to achieve goals under President Biden’s 30×30 land and ocean conservation initiative and similar negotiations on the high seas, and address the changing international fisheries landscape.

The SSC also commended development of the Hawai‘i Community Tagging Program, a collaborative research project on sharks between the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and small-boat fishermen. The program aims to quantify shark-fisher interactions, depredation and mortality rates for silky sharks and Endangered Species Act-listed oceanic whitetip sharks, among others. Scientists educate fishers on shark population status and species identification, while identifying and testing bycatch and depredation mitigation strategies.

The program plans to integrate tag, fishing interaction and environmental data to create species distribution models that can be created under various future climate change scenarios. SSC suggested the Science Center extend its efforts to reduce depredation in Hawai‘i bottomfish fisheries as well as the U.S. Pacific Island territories, which have both noted high depredation rates.

Recommendations made by the SSC will be considered by the Council when it meets virtually next week, Dec. 7-9, 2021, with host sites at Tedi of Samoa Building, Suite 208B, Fagatogo Village, American Samoa; BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); and Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatña, Guam.

For more information on the agenda, meeting documents and web conference connection, go to www.wpcouncil.org/event/189th-council-virtual-meeting. Host sites are subject to local and federal safety and health guidelines regarding COVID-19; check the Council website for updates.