Data on nominal catches by fishing gear, species, stock, fishing country and year for the principal market tuna species. Data expressed in tonnes.

The present database shows annual catch estimates for 1950 to 2010, organized by:

• 23 tuna and tuna-like stocks.
• 6 categories of gear types.
• 132 fishing countries or territories.

The collection of the various catch statistics for tuna species has been carried out by various tuna fishery bodies and other regional international organizations for specific species and areas. Such statistics were provided to the Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources Use and Conservation Division (FIR) of FAO's Fisheries Department (FI) for the purpose of preparing this nominal catches database.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Marine and Inland Fisheries Service of its Fisheries Department and, in particular, the authors of this presentation are grateful for this collaboration.

The following institutions provided their data on tuna catches:

• Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna - CCSBT.
• Indian Ocean Tuna Commission - IOTC.
• International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean - ISC.
• International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas - ICCAT.
• Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission - IATTC.
• Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission - WCPFC.