The Western Pacific is home to the largest stock of tuna in the world. Since tuna is one of the most valuable fish species, the area attracts many fishing vessels, putting it at risk of overfishing. The BESTTuna programme explored how to improve the ecological management of this stock, while ensuring that surrounding island states benefit from sustainable tuna fishing in their waters.
The programme came about after Lida Pet Soede, former representative of the Global Marine programme of WWF, brought potential partners together in Wageningen. She organized a Tuna Think Tank, in which INREF researchers, representatives of WWF, INREF and policymakers brainstormed about these issues. One of the outcomes was the BESTTuna programme.
BESTTuna covered issues of stock allocation between Pacific Island States and distant-water fishing nations. Additionally, it focused on MSC certification of fisheries, fishing methods used and traceability of the fish caught.