The FIRMS Global Tuna Atlas (GTA) was updated with new information just in time for World Tuna Day - May 2nd, 2025. It makes monitoring and analyses of tuna fisheries worldwide more accurate.
Whereas the GTA dissemination occurs through FAO/FIRMS website, the GTA data maintenance workflow is part of the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Lab, one of the virtual laboratories of the Blue-Cloud 2026 project. The atlas is developed by IRD - France and FORTH - Greece in partnership with FIRMS (Fisheries Resources Monitoring System), a partnership that includes the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (tRFMOs).
To develop the Atlas, various processing rounds are needed to generate harmonised and curated datasets on tuna catches from multiple RFMOs, including ICCAT, IOTC, IATTC, and WCPFC. The FIRMS Global Tuna Atlas provides the lower level of processing for global catches officially endorsed by FIRMS partners. IRD processes additional levels of data to generate products expected by scientists. All data is generated in the BlueCloud VLab (e.g. catches level 2 and fishing efforts level 0).
The 2025 update includes:
- New datasets up to 2023, incorporating the latest catch data submitted by RFMOs including global fishing efforts.
- Refined metadata structures, ensuring better documentation and traceability of data sources.
- Enhanced visualisation and download tools, including interactive maps and time-series charts.
- Improved interoperability with other platforms and data services thanks to adherence to FAIR principles and OGC standards for spatial data.
The Atlas allows users to explore global tuna catch trends over time and across regions, filter by e.g. gear type, species or fishing fleet, and download standardised datasets for further analysis. This supports more transparent fisheries governance, better-informed policy decisions, and scientific research.
“With support of IRD, FORTH and CNR-ISTI, FAO could develop with tuna RFMOs a community of practice which aimed at building the tuna atlas following FAIR principles. Being truly FAIR has been a long journey, but now proves to pay-off with painless and timely updates”, said Marc Taconet, FAO senior fishery information officer and Secretary of the FIRMS Partnership.
The Global Tuna Atlas is not a static database—it is a suite of tools actively maintained and updated as new data are made available by tuna RFMOs. This ensures that it continues to reflect the evolving status of tuna stocks and fishing activity across all oceans. The platform also provides services for collaboration and data exchange among RFMOs, providing a harmonised framework that complements their individual reporting systems.
As part of the Global Fisheries Atlas VLab, the Tuna Atlas benefits from the Blue-Cloud infrastructure, which offers a shared, cloud-based environment to access and process marine data and analytical tools. The VLab aims to improve the availability and usability of global fisheries knowledge, contributing to more sustainable ocean resource management.
To explore the updated Global Tuna Atlas, visit:
🔗 https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/firms-tuna-atlas
🔗Open datasets (Zenodo) : Catch level 2 and effort level 0 https://zenodo.org/records/14184244 and FIRMS GLobal Tuna Atlas
🔗Virtual Lab https://blue-cloud.d4science.org/group/globalfisheriesatlas/globalfisheriesatlas
