Excerpt from yaleclimateconnections.org
In Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and other small Pacific island nations, the tuna fishing industry is a linchpin of the economy.
“It is very significant … mainly in revenue for the countries,” says Sangaalofa Clark, CEO of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office.
The organization was created by an agreement among small Pacific islands to collaboratively manage the region’s tuna fishery.
Fishing vessel owners from around the world pay access fees to fish in these nations’ waters. And in several of the countries, that money provides more than 40% of government revenue each year.
But as oceans warm, tuna populations are expected to shift east and north into waters beyond these nations’ jurisdiction.