Pakistan sets 25,000-tonne tuna quota to boost export earnings

Pakistan has put 25,000 metric tonnes of yellowfin and skipjack tuna under a new quota, a move that signals a harder line on stock oversight and a cleaner path for a fishery long described as underregulated. The allocation split 15,000 tonnes to yellowfin and 10,000 tonnes to skipjack, with officials saying the catch could generate about $200 million in export earnings.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs said Pakistan already catches more than 45,000 metric tons of tuna a year, but much of that volume has stayed outside the formal economy. That is the core shift here: instead of treating tuna as a loose, hard-to-track commodity stream, Islamabad is trying to fold it into a system with clearer rules, traceability and export value. For yellowfin and skipjack, two of the Indian Ocean’s most watched commercial species, tighter handling could reshape how pressure is spread across the fishery.

Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Pakistan’s maritime affairs minister, tied the quota to the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, which the government says will phase out gillnetting and trawling in favor of more selective longlining. Officials said the change is designed to cut bycatch, support ocean health and align Pakistan with climate and marine conservation commitments. The quota was announced in early May 2026 on World Tuna Day, a date created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016 to highlight tuna conservation and the livelihoods built around the stock.

The timing also matters inside regional tuna governance. Pakistan said a senior official from its Maritime Affairs Ministry was elected chair of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission’s Standing Committee on Administration and Finance for the first time in the commission’s 28-year history. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, or IOTC, is a 30-member intergovernmental body operating under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and it plays a central role in scientific research, quota setting and the rules that shape sustainable use across the Indian Ocean.

For tuna managers and anglers watching stock health, the significance is not just the size of the quota but the direction of travel. Pakistan is trying to move a large, familiar tuna fishery from informal landings toward regulated export management, while also taking a stronger seat at the table where Indian Ocean rules are made. If the policy holds, the new quota could become less a one-off export target than a model for how a regional tuna fishery tightens control without losing its economic pull.