A collective of 389 key businesses, from tuna companies to supermarkets, are joining with WWF to call for better regulation of tuna fishing within the Indian Ocean.
This move comes in advance of the 20th Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting this May.
Dr Wetjens Dimmlich, WWF Indian Ocean tuna programme manager, said: “The industry and communities that rely on a healthy yellowfin stock are rightly concerned by the IOTC’s predictions of a stock collapse in the near future, which would place their livelihoods under threat.”
In a collaborative letter, WWF and key national and international businesses including Princes, John West, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose and Asda are calling on the Commission to reduce catches of yellowfin tuna by 20%.
In addition, they want harvest control rules introduced to ensure the sustainability of all Indian Ocean tuna stocks, including skipjack.
Dr Dimmlich added: “WWF hopes the IOTC commissioners will respond to this call for action and take steps to protect the industry they are responsible for.”
The Commission has said that if immediate steps are not taken to end overfishing and rebuild the seriously depleted stock, there is a high risk of stock collapse within just five years.
Despite this, catches of yellowfin tuna continue to increase, well in excess of recommended limits and the Commission has yet to adopt any effective measures to control the exploitation of tuna stocks.
In 2012, the global tuna catch reached a record high of more than 7m tonnes (FAO, 2014).
