Spain's tuna fleet, grouped under the Association of Large Tuna Freezers (or AGAC) has entered Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) assessment.
AGAC also includes OPAGAC, or the organization of associated producers of large tuna freezers. There are 48 freezing tuna vessels linked to the association in all, fishing tuna in all the oceans where tropical tuna can be found.
The associations represent companies including Grupo Albacora, Grupo Calvo, Jealsa, Grupo Garavilla, and five others.
Their vessels use purse seine gear to catch up to 8% of the world's total yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna catches, from the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans, MSC said.
The fishery has been in a fisheries improvement project for five years, before deciding to enter MSC assessment. The audit will be carried out by independent assessor Lloyds Register in four distinct geographic areas covered by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.
The assessment will cover 12 different units defined by species, stock, and fishing area. Any units that pass the assessment process and are recommended for certification will be eligible to be licensed to use the MSC’s blue fish ecolabel, MSC explained.
"This will contribute to the achievement of the environmental objectives of the common fisheries policy and the international commitment of Spain towards sustainable exploitation of these important marine resources by the Spanish tuna fleet which is present in all the oceans," said the country's general fisheries secretary.
Laura Rodriguez, director of the MSC in Spain and Portugal, said AGAC was the first to ask for its entire global catch across three oceans to be assessed simultaneously.
"The assessment process will provide invaluable information which we have not had before on the sustainability levels of each of the tropical tuna species in each ocean. We are very pleased about AGAC’s decision to steadily improve its fishing practices over the years, and for now committing to a rigorous assessment process for environmental sustainability," she said.
AGAC managing director Julio Moron said that MSC assessment could now take more than a year, and that his organization knows "there is work yet to be done".
"We believe that reaching this far demonstrates the commitment of the fishers and shipowners of AGAC towards preservation of the marine environment on which depend our livelihoods and employment. We are fully committed to do whatever is in our hands to preserve our fishing activity with the least environmental impact possible and protecting the health of the tropical tuna stocks."
September 02, 2020 at 04:19PM
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Spanish tuna fleet enters full MSC assessment - Undercurrent News
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