Climate change is coming for Pacific tuna

Climate change is pushing tuna into different waters — and now, funding is following.

A US$ 107 million grant announced this week from the Green Climate Fund will help 14 Pacific island nations adapt their tuna-dependent economies as climate change threatens the critical industry, according to The Washington Post.

As warming waters push tuna from these countries’ jurisdictions, or exclusive economic zones (EEZ), the money will be used to develop an advanced warning system that enables the island nations to monitor tuna migration and seek compensation if the fish move out of their waters, the Post’s Michael E. Miller reported.

“These are the countries that contribute the least to the climate crisis and now are going to lose a resource that they have collectively stewarded better than any other ocean basin,” Jack Kittinger, an expert on marine economies at Conservation International, told The Washington Post. “This is the ultimate climate justice issue.”

Conservation International led the science behind the grant, finding in a 2021 paper that climate change will have a devastating impact on these nations’ economies as it pushes tuna outside of their EEZs and into the high seas, where fishing fleets can catch them without having to pay licensing fees to island countries. Miller writes: 

“… a study led by Conservation International’s Johann Bell and other scientists found that tuna caught in the EEZs of nine Pacific island nations and Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand, would plummet by an average of 20 percent by 2050 under a scenario of high greenhouse gas emissions, costing the 10 states roughly $90 million per year in lost license revenue. Smaller Pacific island nations without other industries such as mining or logging could expect their revenue to plunge by almost one-fifth, denting their ability to provide basic services.”

In addition to funding for the advance warning system, the grant also includes funding to boost tuna consumption and food security in the Pacific island nations as climate change decreases the availability of fish traditionally consumed.

Read the full story from The Washington Post here.

Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.