As part the activities of the United Nations Conference on Oceans, the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Tuna Traceability Declaration was convened by the World Economic Forum and a multi-stakeholder coalition, of which The Nature Conservancy is a key partner.
The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration is a non-legally binding declaration that grew out of a dialogue among governments, companies and civil society, which will focus on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. The Declaration is endorsed by leaders of the world’s biggest retailers, tuna processors, marketers, traders and/or harvesters, with the support of influential civil society organizations, and governments- including the Nature Conservancy. These member entities announced concrete actions and partnerships to demonstrate their commitment to implement the Declaration and Action Agenda by 2020.
Commitments include a pledge for fully traceable tuna supply chains, the elimination of slavery, and sourcing from fisheries with robust science-based management plans.
In 2014, global landings of the seven most commercially important tuna species reached five million tons, with an estimated dock value of US $10 billion and an end-product value of over US $40 billion. Several tuna populations are subject to overfishing or are classified as overfished. Ensuring sustainable management, as well as actions to minimize Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, are important for all, from industry, government, non-government organizations and consumers to the ocean itself.
The Nature Conservancy seeks to ensure sustainable seafood supplies from wild fisheries and aquaculture, conserve habitats and marine species, and help local communities and the fishing industry thrive. Through its initiatives around the world, the organization is committed to ensuring that conservation remains an indispensable partner in ocean development.
Cognizant that we cannot manage what we cannot measure, we are contributing our scientific and financial know-how to enabling informed, data-driven and measurable decision making, applied across our regional projects, our partnerships, and our policy work in international fora such as this one, added Damanaki. Simply put, the way forward is not to fish more, but to work together to fish smarter.
2017 The Nature Conservancy