Pacific tuna

FFA urges caution over new tuna data

The figures suggest the entire tuna stock is at a healthy level, including Bigeye which has long been been reported as severely overfished.

The agency's Wez Norris said the data is potentially great news for the sustainability of the fishery but countries need to be cautious about acting on it.

Mr Norris said the extremely positive report was the result of a fundamental change to the way tuna stocks in the region are being assessed and he says it was not yet clear what measures they'll need to take.

Some Pacific tuna conservation measures unfair to small islands: PNA

The commission, which is the governing body for the world's largest tuna fishery, is meeting in Fiji this week where developed nations have called for a ban on the use of Fish Aggregation Devices, or FADs, to be increased from three months to four.

They say the measure is aimed at reducing the catch of Bigeye Tuna in the region.

But Ludwig Kumoru, the chief executive of the PNA, which is a collection of small Pacific states, said an increase would place a disproportionate burden on countries like Tuvalu, where the fishery generates 50 percent of the country's revenue.

State of the Tuna Report, working smarter for our tuna

Strong decisions and new initiatives were announced over the past months by the two leading fisheries organisations in the Pacific; the Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) based in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and the very influential Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) which is headquartered in Majuro in the Marshall Islands.