Of the total commercial tuna catch worldwide, 88% comes from stocks at “healthy” levels of abundance, according to the November 2024 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report, marking an improvement of two percentage points compared to previous March 2024 report findings. Overfished stocks account for 10% of the total catch—unchanged from the last report. The percentage of the catch that came from stocks at an intermediate level of abundance decreased from 4%—as reported in March 2024—to 2%.
Changes in stock status ratings since the March 2024 report include:
- Abundance or “spawning biomass” (SSB) and exploitation rate or fishing mortality (F) ratings for Eastern Pacific Ocean bigeye improved from yellow to green.
- Pacific Ocean bluefin’s F rating also improved from yellow to green.
- SSB and F ratings for Atlantic Ocean Mediterranean albacore changed from orange to yellow. However, there is high uncertainty about the stock status due to poor monitoring and basic fishery statistics.
According to the November 2024 report, the below tuna stocks are considered overfished and/or subject to overfishing:
- Indian Ocean bigeye and Indian Ocean yellowfin stocks are overfished and subject to overfishing, unchanged since the March 2024 report.
- Pacific Ocean bluefin is overfished, also unchanged since the March 2024 report.
In terms of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO) stock management, key updates since March 2024 include:
- The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) adopted a new management procedure for skipjack tuna that will help reverse overcatch and ensure the long-term sustainability of the species.
- The IOTC and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) released updated fish aggregating device (FAD) measures, helping to improve how FADs are used and managed, reducing the impacts of FADs on the ecosystem, and increasing monitoring of these devices at sea.
ISSF publishes its signature Status of the Stocks report several times yearly using the most current scientific data on 23 major commercial tuna stocks. Related infographics for the November 2024 report are available here and here.
Key Statistics in the New Status of the Stocks Report
- Abundance or SSB levels: Globally, 65% of the stocks are at a healthy level of abundance—an improvement of four percentage points since the March 2024 report. Additionally, 13% of the stocks are overfished—marking a decrease of four percentage points since the previous report. Unchanged since the March 2024 report, 22% are at an intermediate level.
- Fishing mortality levels: 87% of the 23 stocks are not experiencing overfishing—an improvement of nine percentage points from the March 2024 report. Nine percent are experiencing overfishing—a four-percentage-point decrease since the previous report. Also, 4% are at an intermediate level—a five-percentage-point reduction since March 2024.
- Tuna production by fishing gear: 66% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (9%), pole-and-line (8%), gillnets (3%) and miscellaneous gears (14%).
- Largest tuna catches by stock: The five largest catches in tonnes—all unchanged since the previous report except for Eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack—are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, Indian Ocean skipjack, Indian Ocean yellowfin, and Eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack. In the March 2024 report, Eastern Pacific Ocean yellowfin was amongst the five largest tuna catches by stock.
- Total catch: The catch of major commercial tunas was 5.2 million tonnes in 2022, a 2% increase from 2021. Fifty-seven percent of it was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (30%), bigeye (7%) and albacore (5%). Bluefin tunas accounted for 1% of the global catch.
The Status of the Stocks report is reviewed by the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which provides advice on its content. The report does not advocate any particular seafood purchase decisions.
About the Status of the Stocks Report
There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide—six albacore, four bigeye, four bluefin, five skipjack and four yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of recent scientific assessments of these stocks and the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs, as of November 2024. Status of the Stocks assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) using a consistent methodology based on two factors: Abundance and Exploitation Rate (fishing mortality).
ISSF produces several Status of the Stocks reports each year to clarify where we stand—and how much more needs to be done—to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks. The Status of the Stocks presents a comprehensive analysis of tuna stocks by species, and the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to MSC Criteria provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. Together, these tools help define the continuous improvement achieved and the areas and issues that require more attention.
In addition, ISSF maintains a data visualization tool based on its Status of the Stocks report. The “Interactive Stock Status Tool” is located on the ISSF website and accessible through the Status of the Stocks overview page. Users can easily toggle through tuna abundance and exploitation health indicators by catch or stock, filter by location and species, and see the share of total catch by species/stocks and gear types.
