Can tuna promote sustainable development in the Pacific?

This article reviews the importance of tuna fisheries in the western and central Pacific Ocean to Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and examines whether current and proposed institutional mechanisms for tuna management are sufficient to promote long-term tuna-led development. Potential gains exist from cooperation on tuna management; however, it seems unlikely such benefits will be realized in the short or medium term despite the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Without improvements in the institutional capability of many PICs the tuna fisheries will likely fail to sustain the region's long-term development. Greater effort should be directed to support multinational institutions that reduce harvests, allow for transferability of harvesting rights across countries and vessels, manage financial risk, and for initiatives that improve the capacity and government effectiveness of PICs.