PNA starts MSC recertification process; Papua New Guinea tuna seiners awarded FISH certification

PAPUA NEW GUINEA:  The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) has announced it started the process of Marine Stewardship Council recertification for its purse-seine fishery. It will be assessed against the new MSC standard. The recertification effort will include free-school and fish-aggregating device (FAD)-caught skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye, according to the PNA.

“The outcome of the last year's attempt to get a scope extension for bigeye and FADs was disappointing, but it only strengthened the determination of our region to prove that our fishery is fully sustainable, and it encouraged the Pacific nations to not give up on its position. At Pacifical we are confident this process is on track to result in a positive outcome,” the PNA said in a press release.

 - On 7 March, FISH Standard for Crew announced the certification of 33 Fishing Industry Association Papua New Guinea (FIA PNG) tuna-seiners. The certification was issued by SGS upon extensive policy and procedure reviews, and on-site vessel inspections and interviews with the staff. THE FIA PNG entered the auditing process for the certification in May 2022.

“We are proud to be the first to attain FISH certification in our region. The fourth pillar of FIA PNG’s responsible sourcing policy is crew welfare, an area we have worked hard on for a number of years implementing policies and practices across our member companies while partnering with outside experts to identify best practices,” FIA PNG president and chairman Sylvester Pokajam said. “FISH certification, whose audits have worked to further improve our practices, was the next logical step in our journey. This independent process demonstrates we have achieved, and maintain, the highest levels of performance with respect to crew treatment, compensation, and onboard conditions.”

Source: Seafood Source