Tuna catches in the western Pacific hit record levels in 2012, coinciding with record global market prices that bumped the value of the fishery to an all-time high of more than four billion US dollars.
According to a report presented to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the total estimated tuna catch last year was 2.6 million tons.
This eclipses the previous record in 2009 by 12,000 tons and accounts for an estimated 60 percent of the total global tuna catch.
The eight member nations of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement are also seeing record levels of revenue this year.
PNA revenues are up from 60 million dollars a year in 2010 to over 240 million this year.
The Marshall Islands fisheries Director, Glen Joseph, says fisheries revenue in the Marshalls has tripled.
He says all PNA countries have doubled or tripled their revenue under the vessel day scheme which sets a benchmark daily fishing fee of 5,000 dollars and is set to rise to 6,000 in January.
