By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The global community, every year on May 2, observes World Tuna Day to spread awareness among people about Tuna fish regarding sustainable fishing practices and how they have become endangered species due to the high demand for their meat.
This day was established by United Nations in 2016 by the UN General Assembly to preserve the Tuna fish.
Tuna is a significant source of food for humans as the fish has several rich qualities such as Omega 3, Vitamin B12, proteins and other minerals.
Also, it is economically important to both developed and developing countries.
Owing to the growing concerns of COVID-19 in the world, the UN organised a virtual conference and exhibition on Sunday, to observe this day.
World Tuna Day is also aimed to draw attention to the importance of conservation management and sustainable fishing.
Tuna are an essential species, and deserve such recognition. Many nations depend upon tuna as a food source. Over 96 countries have tuna fisheries, which are under ever increasing pressure, the UN stated in a report published on its website.
The sustainability and economic performance of the tuna resource for the Pacific Islands is a positive story.
Canned tuna has been a great ally in UN’s pantries during the pandemic.
Consumption of inexpensive and shelf-stable canned tuna increased worldwide in 2020. Demand for frozen raw product also increased. The non-canned tuna market, however, remained suppressed, along with restricted catering trade, due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Tuna and tuna-like species are very important economically to both developed and developing countries and a significant source of food, considering their nutritional properties.
Their meat is rich in Omega-3 and it also contains minerals, proteins, and vitamin B12, among other advantages.
As a result of the amazing qualities of tuna, the fish are threatened by overwhelming demand.
According to the latest data by the UN, among the seven principal tuna species, 33.3 percent of the stocks are estimated to be fished at biologically unsustainable levels
That is why in December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly voted to officially observe World Tuna Day in its resolution 71/124.
The move underlines the importance of conservation management to ensure that we have systems in place to prevent tuna stocks from crashing.
Many countries depend heavily on tuna resources for food security and nutrition, economic development, employment, government revenue, livelihoods, culture, and recreation.
Therefore, Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources – applies to the global tuna market.
However, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), environmental groups have now warned that the fisheries and Tuna now falls under endangered species.
Marking World Tuna Day aims at spreading awareness about the overfishing of Tuna and the importance of maintaining the ecosystem and the food chain.