Celebrating World Tuna Day: Steering Tuna Sustainability for Socio-Economic Prosperity

Today, we come together to celebrate World Tuna Day under the theme, “Steering Tuna Sustainability: A Driver of Socio-Economic Prosperity.” This day serves as a vital reminder of the importance of managing our tuna fisheries sustainably given their fundamental role for our standard of living, livelihoods and the economy.

Over the last half a century, the fisheries and related activities that we have developed to harness the productivity of tuna have driven the growth of our fisheries sector. The extent to which tuna has come to dominate Seychelles’ economy can be appreciated from high vantage points on the northeast coast of Mahé, whereby the activity associated with purse seine fishing, tuna canning and trade clearly define the vista.

That activity translates into impressive numbers that illustrate the importance of tuna for the economy. Landing and transhipment by the purse seine fleet in Port Victoria reached 352,989MT in 2024, with close to 90% of the total catch by that fleet unloaded in the country.  This is testament to the investment Seychelles has made over the years in ensuring our services to the fleet remain highly competitive. We also recorded an increase in the proportion of catches made in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2024, which is a vital source of revenue for the country. Close to 90% of Seychelles’ exports constitute fish products, of which 88% comprised canned tuna in 2024, valued at SCR3.8 billion and marking a slight increase compared to the previous year.

While the sector has continued to grow, concerns have of course been raised regarding the sustainability of the fishery. It was therefore a major achievement in 2024 when the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) confirmed that the yellowfin tuna stock was no longer overfished and was not subject to overfishing. Rebuilding of the yellowfin tuna stock is a clear demonstration that fisheries management works. When sacrifices to are made to limit the amount we catch, stocks can recover.

The tools at our disposal for sustaining tuna fisheries continue to improve with the increasing adoption of best practice management procedures for skipjack and bigeye tuna, with the procedure for yellowfin under development. All three tropical tuna species are also now subject to catch limits, meaning that the IOTC is better placed than it has ever been to constrain fishing pressure at sustainable levels. However, it must be cautioned that, in spite of Seychelles maintaining one of the highest compliance levels within IOTC, several coastal states are failing to meet requirements, or object and are not bound to conservation and management measures, which can result in freeloading on the sacrifices of others.

If 2024 was marked by achievements in the sustainable management of tuna fisheries, this year presents an opportunity to consolidate those gains through the process of renewing the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) with the European Union. As with any negotiation for access to our resources, Seychelles will be seeking to improve returns for continued investment in our fisheries and related institutions – the launch of the pension scheme for fishers last month being one example of how will continue to share the benefits of providing access to tuna resources.

The socioeconomic prosperity that the tuna fishery creates is somewhat difficult to quantity in its entirety and is not always appreciated, involving revenues, public service budgets, balance of trade, currency strength, import and export costs and logistics, employment, household income, and many other factors. However, socioeconomic losses would emerge immediately and would be felt by all if the fishery and our lead role in it eroded or ended. As a case in point, the temporary pause of our other main economic pillar, tourism, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, had devastating albeit short-term impacts that we all experienced. As a base industry, the tuna fishery has certain economic effects that differ from tourism, but the overall consequences of not sustaining this vital sector for our socioeconomic prosperity can be anticipated and would be similar. In 1998, it was the tuna economy that experienced the pervasive impacts of one of the strongest ever El Nino events, resulting in a 42% hole in Seychelles’ economy. As with Covid-19, thankfully the impact was short-term.

At SFA, we are taking steps to consolidate and future-proof the prosperity afforded by our tuna resources. A National Tuna Fishery Management Plan has been prepared for implementation in 2025, while we are also working with our partners to improve the management of Fish Aggregating Devices used in the purse seine fishery. Meanwhile, we are encouraged by the association of our local longline fishery to represent their interests on how tuna fisheries are managed. In all of these initiatives, important trade-offs will be required in balancing ecological, social and economic objectives but all are essential for our prosperity and endowment to future generations.

Happy World Tuna Day!