A report released by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) highlights major changes in the international tuna industry and what they mean for Pacific Island countries and territories.
The Tuna Industry and Trade Dynamics: Western and Central Pacific Ocean report demonstrates that global tuna markets are undergoing significant change. These shifts are being driven by changing consumer demand, supply chain disruptions, inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and growing sustainability requirements.
‘These insights help our Members understand how global developments are shaping the Pacific tuna industry. They support better planning to manage risks, identify opportunities, and secure long-term economic benefits from sustainably managed tuna resources,’ said FFA Director-General Noan David Pakop, commenting that the report underscores the importance of evidence-based decision-making.
Funded by the Japan Promotion Fund (JPF) and covering the period from 2022 to 2025, the report analyses global tuna industry and trade dynamics from the perspective of Pacific Island countries, which supply more than half of the world’s tuna and play a leading role in sustainable fisheries management. It finds that global tuna markets are becoming more competitive and volatile, shaped by shifting consumer demand, rising sustainability and traceability expectations, and external pressures such as climate impacts, fuel and logistics costs, and geopolitical uncertainty.
While large multinational firms continue to dominate processing, branding, and retail markets, Pacific Island countries remain the cornerstone of the global tuna industry.
This report examines recent industry and trade dynamics in the WCPO tuna fishery between 2022 and 2025, with a focus on major global firms, emerging Asian players, Pacific-led initiatives, and evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and trade trends. It finds that the global tuna industry is increasingly competitive and shaped by price volatility, shifting consumer demand, sustainability and traceability requirements, and external pressures such as climate impacts, fuel and logistics costs, and geopolitical uncertainty.
Large multinational firms remain dominant through vertical integration, branding power, and strategic investment decisions, while Chinese and Philippine companies continue to expand their influence across fishing, processing, and trading.
The report underscores that Pacific Island countries hold their greatest leverage at the point of resource ownership and access, where regional cooperation has successfully secured value from the fishery with relatively low risk. It cautions that expanding into harvesting and onshore processing can expose countries to high commercial and financial risk in a highly competitive global value chain, particularly where scale, market access, and branding power are limited. Instead, the report highlights Pacific-led pathways that build on existing strengths, including sustainability leadership, traceability, and strategic market engagement, as more effective routes to increasing economic returns, strengthening bargaining power, and supporting long-term development outcomes for Pacific peoples.
