POLICY BRIEF article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Affairs and Policy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1602869
Mitigating Postharvest Losses in the High Seas: Policy Interventions for Sustainable Tuna Fisheries
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Agriculture-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Quezon City, Philippines
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract Tuna dominates Philippine fisheries production and exports, with High Seas Pocket 1 serving as a vital fishing ground. Postharvest losses, estimated at 17.25% of landed catch, translate into millions in annual economic losses, driven largely by traditional onboard handling and preservation limitations. WCPFC CMM 2023-01 should be amended to authorize carrier vessels equipped with freezing systems, while a Quality Management Program should be institutionalized to standardize handling, cold chain integrity, and safety practices across the tuna supply chain. Complementary policy instruments like traceability systems, cold chain expansion, competency-based training programs, fiscal incentives, and multi-stakeholder collaboration will operationalize QMP. A holistic loss-mitigation policy enhances food safety, promotes equity across the value chain, secures market access, and supports the resilience and sustainability of the tuna industry.
Keywords: Postharvest losses, Tuna fisheries, High Seas Pocket 1, Cold chain management, sustainable fisheries
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Montojo, Tadifa, Chiuco and BANICOD. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: RIZA JANE BANICOD, Department of Agriculture-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Quezon City, Philippines
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.