The recently concluded Tuna 2008 conference was successfully held from 28 – 30 May, 2008 at Centara CentralWorld Bangkok, Thailand. Attended by over 600 delegates from more than 60 countries, the conference discussed 41 papers presented by speakers from the industry and representatives from regional as well as international fisheries organizations. The conference was officiated by Dr. Somying Piumsombun, Director General of the Department of Fisheries, Thailand and also attended by Honourable Ministers from several countries; Hussain Hilmy, the Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Maldives; Ben Somri, Minister of Fisheries, PNG; Gabriel Kapris, the Minister of Commerce & Industry, PNG; and Ramon Corral Avila, the Minister of Fisheries, Mexico. Sustainability related issues and the current challenges faced by the tuna industry took the centre stage throughout the conference. Mr. Christopher Lischewski, CEO and President of Bumble Bee Foods, USA and one of the chairpersons of the conference, in his keynote address welcomed the opportunity to partner with the environmental community that can accept today’s realities and is prepared to work with the industry in a consistent and science-based manner to bring about gradual but permanent improvement in global fisheries management. He said that the future livelihood depends on the sustainable management of the world’s fisheries and the industry cannot continue to stand by idly as groups with no vested interest in fisheries shape the sustainability debate with customers and consumers. The tuna industry must begin to take a leadership role in bringing about necessary improvements in tuna fisheries management in a responsible and science-based manner.

Dr. Somying Piumsombun during her opening speech highlighted the role of tuna industry in the country’s economy particularly in generating employment opportunities and foreign exchange earning. Thailand has been the world’s largest exporter of canned tuna and loins for a long time.  In 2007, Thailand exported almost 500 000 MT of tuna products, which slightly decreased by 5% in volume and 1.6% in value, compared to the year 2006, due to uncertainty in the political and economic situations. Thailand is the largest exporter of tuna products and at the same time is also the top importer of tuna from tuna producing countries all over the world. In 2007, it imported around 730 000 MT, a drop of nearly 7% compared to 2006 but increased in value by 7.3%. She said that the Thai tuna industry is facing a challenging time when tuna fisheries around the world are faced with soaring fuel prices contributing to higher cost of fishing. At the same time, prices of raw material (skipjack is over US$ 1 900 per MT) has become so high that only marginal benefit can be gained through processing and trading. The main policy of the Thai government is to encourage tuna fishing in the high seas and in promising areas of other countries. Thailand certainly needs to have its own tuna fleets in order to have steady supply of raw materials for sustaining its tuna industry.

In conjunction with the conference, two other events were held alongside: an exhibition which was participated by 42 exhibitors and a workshop on vessel monitoring scheme (VMS). The exhibition was jointly organized by Baird Events Australia and INFOFISH while the workshop was organized by Carpe Diem, UK.