Despite their small size, Pacific Island nations and territories are a powerhouse in the fishing industry, contributing more than a third of the global tuna catch . However, the tide could soon turn for these islands — and not for the better. Fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, ocean warming will alter the habitats of tuna, causing these fish to move outside the jurisdictions — or Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) — of many Pacific Islands. Using modelling to predict how tuna stocks could move by 2050, a team of experts — led by Conservation International’s Johann Bell — found that an exodus of tuna could cut the average catch by a staggering 20 percent in 10 Pacific Island states, from Palau in the west to Kiribati in the east. According to the study published today in Nature Sustainability, catch reductions of this magnitude could result in a collective loss of US$ 140 million per year by 2050 and cost some of these island nations and territories up to 17 percent of their annual government revenue.…