Regional cooperation for sustainable utilization of neritic tunas in Southeast Asia

The oceans and seas of the Southeast Asian region abound with several species of oceanic and neritic tunas that are of high economic importance. Such resources not only generate export revenues for the countries of the region but also provide important protein sources for local populace. While oceanic tunas migrate over large sea areas and oceans, neritic tunas inhabit the economic zones and in the subregional seas of Southeast Asia. Statistical reports have indicated that oceanic tuna resources have been declining, this situation makes neritic tuna resources becoming more economically-important to the extent that the resources have increasingly become the target for commercial and local fisheries, especially that attractive prices are offered for such tunas by the fish processing industry. The distribution and migration of neritic tuna stocks in the waters and sub-regions of Southeast Asia however, as well as their utilization remain uncertain making it difficult to develop appropriate tuna management plans at national and sub-regional levels. Therefore, it has become necessary to establish a regional cooperation for the utilization of neritic tunas for the Southeast Asian region to address critical issues and concerns on their sustainability.