22 SEPTEMBER 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Achotines Laboratory: Four Decades of Continuous Research on Tropical Tunas Yole Buchalla, Daniel Margulies, Susana Cusatti, Eblin Pereira and Vernon Scholey Tunas are highlymigratory species that support a worldwide industry of over $40 billion annually (PEW 2023) that includes canneries, frozen and fresh markets. Tuna species, including Atlantic-, Pacific- and Southern bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack and albacore, are the most commercially valuable fish in our oceans, and their fisheries account for approximately 30 percent of the annual global marine capture trade (PEW 2024, FAO 2022). It is predicted that the value of tuna fisheries will reach $52 billion by 2028 (Business Wire 2023). Tunas not only represent a valuable protein source for several countries in the world (also supporting livelihood of millions of people) but the ecological role that these species have in the marine environment is of incalculable value and the need for management and conservation of tuna fisheries is imperative. In turn, the management and conservation of a fish whose etymology, coming from Greek, means “to rush, dart along” has its own unique challenges related to its stratification and migratory characteristics. But currently, five Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) embrace this challenge, with their management boundaries covering more than 90 percent of the world’s ocean surfaces (PEW 2020). The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) is the oldest of the tuna RFMOs, created in 1949 and reinforced with the adoption of the Antigua Convention in 2003. The IATTC is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and tunalike species, associated species and their ecosystems throughout FIGURE 1. Aerial view of the Achotines Laboratory, in the Pacific coast of Republic of Panama. Tunas not only represent a valuable protein source for several countries in the world (also supporting livelihood of millions of people) but the ecological role that these species have in the marine environment is of incalculable value and the need for management and conservation of tuna fisheries is imperative.
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