100,000 Tuna Tagged

[Dreamtime]

SUVA (RNZI) - 100,000 tuna have now been tagged in Pacific waters in a programme that began nearly 18 months ago.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says the number is a significant milestone as efforts are made to obtain new information on tuna movement, mortality and behaviour.

The SPC says the Pacific Tuna Tagging Programme will result in more accurate assessments of the status of skipjack, yellowfin and big eye tuna stocks and the impacts of fishing on them.

The first phase of the tagging operation initially focussed on Papua New Guinea before being extended to Solomon Islands.