The true cost of dodgy fishing in Pacific tuna fisheries - potentially stretching over $600 million - has been condemned as "larceny on the high seas".
The figure has been revealed in a new 100-page report, prepared by marine consultant company MRAG Asia Pacific for a Pacific economic forum.
It is the first ever attempt to quantify the volume and value of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Pacific tuna fisheries.
IUU is a broad definition that covers vessels fishing in state jurisdictions without permission, misreporting or not reporting harvest volumes, or flouting conservation and management measures put in place for certain areas.
Using estimated volumes looking at the period between 2010 and 2015, and built on the best information available, the report suggested that IUU fishing was stripping around 306,000 tonnes of tuna from the fisheries - or somewhere between 276,000 and 338,000 tonnes.