In 2010, 60 per cent of the global tuna catch came from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, the world's biggest tuna fishery. At 2.4 million tonnes, the 2010 catch is the fishery's second highest annual catch on record. So how much tuna is out there and is the amount of fishing sustainable? Credit: Malo Hosken, SPC The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has been tagging tuna since the 1970s to collect critical information for the assessment of tuna species in the fishery. The SPC is an international organisation providing technical and policy advice, training and research services to 22 Pacific Island countries and territories. Its Pacific tuna tagging program is the largest ever implemented in the Pacific area and, with more than 300,000 tuna now tagged, it is generating the most comprehensive data set for tuna management in the world. Running since 2006, the program is an initiative of the Pacific Islands community, who want to ensure the best information is available to manage their oceanic ecosystems.
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