Pew’s Interactive Story Shines Light On Pacific Tuna Trade

The Pew Charitable Trusts has developed a comprehensive story map on the Pacific tuna trade to help seafood buyers and sellers do more to ensure sustainability for their customers. The data visualization site is called ‘From Ship to Shelf, the Pacific Tuna Trade Is a Complex Global Business.’

The storyboard begins with: “Every year, people catch and consume more than 5 million metric tons of tuna worldwide.” The site shows how the fish gets from the ocean to people’s sashimi and tuna salad sandwiches.

It showcases the four main types of tuna (including their Latin names) found in supermarkets – albacore, skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye as well as where the the fish are being captured.

The site features the five tuna RFMOs that oversee tuna fishing – WCPFC, IATTC, ICCAT, IOTC, and CCSBT. It also gives a visual look into the member states that are part of Pacific tuna RFMOs – WCPFC and IATTC.

“In addition to setting catch limits and other rules, RFMOs govern the types of fishing gear that vessels can use in various areas of the ocean. The two main types of gear used for tuna are purse seine and longline,” states the site on the various gears.

The story map delves into flagged states operating in the Pacific Ocean, listing South Korea, as the top catching country in the region. Details of the registered vessels are given. The site also answers the question: What happens after the tuna is caught? Information is provided about importing and exporting nations and the tuna processing nations in the Pacific – Thailand, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. More details about Ecuador and Thailand, and their processing and exports activities are also given. Information about the main tuna-consuming markets, such as Japan, the US and the EU, is also provided.

Pew states that wholesale and retail companies should engage in tuna fisheries management and gives a detailed overview of how they can do so. “To support a more sustainable tuna supply chain, companies should track three key steps – catching, processing, and exporting – and should participate in RFMO deliberations, especially around three important management improvements.”

See this link for the interactive story map.