Netting Billions 2020: Global Values and Trends for Tuna Fisheries
Explore catch and revenue data for the seven most commercially important tunas
Editor’s note: On December 2, 2020, the interactive was updated to correct the loining/canning end values to include the value of byproducts in the total values.
Commercial tuna fisheries contribute more than $40 billion to the global
economy each year, but high demand for these species has depleted their
economic and ecological value. To investigate trends in the catch and value
of these fisheries, The Pew Charitable Trusts has published two reports
estimating the
global values for commercial tuna fisheries
targeting seven species: yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye, albacore and
Atlantic, Pacific and southern bluefin tunas. “Netting Billions 2020: A Global Tuna Valuation” found that between 2012 and 2018, the estimated end value of these
tunas—the total amount paid by the final customers—
The following tables provide data from Pew’s 2020 report on catch volume, dock value, and end value with all rows sorted by end value. You can explore the data by expanding the rows by region, gear, species and end product to find the specific values. Additionally, the filter icon, on the right, allows you to find the specific data you’re looking for and to drag and drop to adjust the order and hierarchy of the display. Once you find the trend line you want, simply hover over the individual data points to see their values, which are reported in nominal U.S. dollars. A glossary of terms and abbreviations used is available below. Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd., an independent fisheries and aquaculture consultancy based in the United Kingdom, conducted the research on sales values that underpins this report and interactive.
Glossary
RFMO — Regional Fishery Management Organization
- ICCAT
- International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
- IATTC
- Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
- WCPFC
- Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
- IOTC
- Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
- CCSBT
- Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna
Gear Types
- Purse seine
- Large nets that encircle schools of fish; generally targeting high volumes of low value fish but also used to catch low volumes of high value bluefin tunas for ranching (defined below).
- Longline
- Hook and line fishing gear consisting of a long main line with up to thousands of baited hooks suspended from secondary lines at regular intervals.
- Handline
- Hook and line fishing gear consisting of a single vertical line with a barbed hook that is pulled by hand.
- Other
- Other fishing gears, sometimes a mix of fishing methods.
- Pole & line
- Hook and line fishing gear consisting of a single vertical line with a barbed hook that is pulled by pole.
- Gillnet
- Long netting that entangles fish or other marine life .
- Troll
- Hook and line fishing gear consisting of one or many baited fishing lines that are drawn through the water by a moving vessel.
End Products
- Loining or canning
- Tuna catch destined for canneries and sold to consumers in cans or pouches.
- Frozen sashimi
- Non-canned, frozen tuna catch destined for steak, fillet, or raw fish products.
- Fresh sashimi
- Non-canned, fresh tuna catch destined for steak, fillet, or raw fish products.
- Domestic (fresh or processing)
- Often low quality, tuna catch reserved for small-scale, traditional processing for local consumption (e.g., smoking, drying) or sold direct to consumers in fish markets.
- Ranching
- Live (Atlantic, Pacific, and southern) bluefin tuna catch destined for fattening pens where they are fed a specific diet that simultaneously increases their size and fat content to maximize their value in raw fish markets. Ranching also allows fishing operations to harvest the bluefin at the precise moment when the fish is most highly priced.
The Global Value of Tuna
A Global Tuna Valuation
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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