World Tuna Day
Next: May 2, 2027
Keep tuna swimming for the next generation.
The story
Where it comes from
World Tuna Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on 7 December 2016. The resolution was introduced by Palau on behalf of the Pacific small island states, for whom tuna has been an important food for centuries and still matters greatly to their economies. Tuna are under real pressure: more hooks and nets are set for them than for any other group of fish. The day asks the world to end overfishing and illegal fishing, so that there will still be tuna in the sea, and on the plate, for generations to come.
How it's celebrated
Fisheries agencies, scientists and ocean groups use the day to share news about the state of tuna stocks and how they are managed. For the rest of us it is a good day to ask where the tuna in a sandwich, a tin or a plate of sashimi came from, and to choose fish from well-managed fisheries when we can.
Did you know
- Bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye and albacore are among the few warm-blooded fish, able to keep their bodies warmer than the water around them.
- Tuna must keep swimming all their lives to push oxygen-rich water over their gills.
- General Santos City, on the southern tip of Mindanao, calls itself the Tuna Capital of the Philippines and has one of Asia's largest fish ports.
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