Tunas support valuable commercial fisheries (export value >$6.6M) throughout the world oceans and are traded extensively in the global market for canning and sashimi. The demand and catch for tuna have increased steadily over the last fifty years and the current annual world catch is now over 4 million tons. Catches in the Pacific Ocean have been predominant, representing 65% of the world catch, with about 16% of the world catch from the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). The trend for the growing worldwide demand and harvest of tuna is expected to continue and will result in diminished catches if the fisheries are not properly managed. In this dissertation, I present a case study on Pacific tuna fisheries, describing the development and evolution of these tuna fisheries in relationship to the impacts of globalization, the institutionalization of the regional fisheries management organizations in the eastern and western and central Pacific Ocean and the challenges that these organizations have encountered in responding to governance requirements (UN Fish Stocks Agreement, FAO Compliance Agreement), especially as it relates to fisheries science. The increasing exploitation of tunas in the Pacific requires that participating nations develop and implement effective governance structures that can be used to sustainably manage these transboundary fisheries. Next, I examine the role of science at the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), one of the first regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) to govern tuna resources in the EPO. Its principal duties include coordinating fishery research, development activities and recommending appropriate conservation measures to main the populations of tuna and other fish stocks taken by tuna vessels fishing in the EPO at levels of abundance that can support maximum sustainable yields (MSY). I evaluate how scientific and technical information are viewed and utilized by the Commission and the relative importance of scientific information in relation to other factors that influence decisions. I conclude by highlighting some key roles of science and its limitations in the sustainable management of tuna resources in the EPO.