The annual IOTC meetings form the essential blueprint for the future of tuna in the Indian Ocean. Today, as the IOTC negotiations begin, the GTA, an independent, pre-competitive association of retailers and seafood supply chain companies, is making an urgent request to IOTC members. Based on alarming scientific evidence, delegates must agree to cut the yellowfin catch by 30% in order to rebuild the stock. Failure to do so risks a full collapse of the stock, with major ecological and societal consequences, particularly on coastal states in the Indian Ocean where thousands of livelihoods depend on tuna. According to the GTA, it’s an indispensable opportunity to act before 2025, which would mark ten years since the stock was first declared overfished.

Daniel Suddaby, the GTA’s executive director, said: “These IOTC meetings are where the future of tuna in the Indian Ocean is decided, so it is essential that the voice of our Partners, representing a huge swath of the tuna supply chain, are heard and acted upon.”

He added: “All of our 52 partners share grave concerns about overfishing and unsustainable practices – concerns echoed everywhere by the scientific community, conservationists and global consumers. That’s why we’re collaborating on a joint campaign with the WWF, unifying the global voice of the tuna market and the world’s most recognised conservation organisation.”

The seafood market believes sustainable tuna is a requisite in 2024. The Global Tuna Alliance wants to see the Indian Ocean’s yellowfin population rebuilt within two generations (approximately 10 years). To do this, the GTA is insisting that catch levels be reduced by 30% relative to the 2020 catch, which, according to a report by the IOTC Scientific Committee in 2021, would yield a 67% chance of rebuilding the stock by 2030.

To engage decision-makers more creatively in its campaign, the GTA developed a twist on the classic card game ‘Go Fish’, rebranded as ‘Go Fish Less: Yellowfin Edition’. These GTA-branded decks of cards, communicating the key campaign messages from our GTA Partners, have been given to each IOTC delegation in Bangkok. The back of the pack lays out the ‘rules’ of the game in three parts: to break through the deadlock on catch allocations and strike a deal to cut the overall catch, to make a plan to rebuild the stock in two generations, and to act now before bigger cuts are necessary.

Each of the 52 cards inside the deck features a market statement from a GTA partner, calling for the urgent reduction of the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna catch, such as this appeal from Woolworths, South Africa: “The overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean is a profound, systemic challenge, not in the future, but right here, right now and taking action to rebuild the yellowfin tuna stock cannot wait.” Delegates can also find a QR code on one of the cards, linking to the GTA’s website where more information about the campaign can be found.

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