SPAIN: The non-profit organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announces that the National Association of Freezer Tuna Vessel Owners (ANABAC) has started the evaluation process to certify its catches of skipjack tuna in the Indian Ocean under the MSC Fisheries Standard. .
After almost a year of auditing process, in June 2021, ANABAC obtained MSC certification for its yellowfin tuna (Thunnus Albacares) fished in free schools in the Atlantic Ocean. This process followed all the steps of full assessment under the strict MSC Fisheries Standard, including peer review, site visit, the process of submitting claims by all interested parties and the various interim reports published in the MSC website.
Widely recognized as the world's most rigorous and credible extractive fisheries sustainability assessment process, the MSC Fisheries Standard certifies well-managed, sustainable fisheries and is based on three fundamental principles: healthy fish stocks; minimization of the impact on the marine environment as a whole; and an effective fisheries management system. ANABAC's certification will be carried out by the independent certifier Bureau Veritas for the three principles mentioned.
In the event that the evaluation is completed successfully, the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) caught by purse-seine gear and in all its modalities, both free school and on fish aggregating devices (FADs) may look the MSC sustainable fishing identification, the blue seal.
The fishery is made up of eight vessels, which are Izurdia, Doniene, Playa de Aritzatxu, Playa de Ris, Artza, Morne Blanc, Morn Seselwa and Playa de Anzoras, owned by the companies ATUNSA and PEVASA, four of which have a Spanish flag and another four are flagged to the Seychelles. The fishing zone corresponds to the entire Indian Ocean and, specifically, to FAO zones 51 and 57.
Currently, a total of 21 vessels are attached to this association, fishing mainly yellowfin tuna (yellow fin tuna) and skipjack tuna in the tropical waters of the Atlantic (from Mauritania to Angola) and Indian Oceans (from the eastern African coast to the Chagos Islands) both inside and outside the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the coastal countries, since tuna is a highly migratory species and is not permanently located in a given fishing ground.
“Following the first MSC certification of the Atlantic Ocean tuna free school fishery, obtained last year, the assessment of our Indian Ocean skipjack fishery is the natural step taken by ANABAC in its plan to certify under the Fisheries Standard MSC all its fisheries”. Borja Soroa, president of ANABAC.
“A year ago we celebrated the MSC certification for the Atlantic yellowfin tuna catches of the Anabac fleet. We are pleased that the association has now decided to assess its catches of skipjack tuna in the Indian Ocean by undergoing the independent and participatory assessment process of the MSC standard. We wish the member companies of ANABAC much success in the process”. Laura Rodríguez, MSC Program Director for Spain and Portugal.
Source: MSC