MSC Defends Mixed Certification From OPAGAC Criticism

The MSC has responded in defence of certifying only the free-school operations of a mixed tuna purse seine fishery, after OPAGAC, the umbrella industry association representing the Spanish tuna purse seine fleet, has challenged the merits and scientific rigor of such accreditation, stating that these fleets still largely depend on drifting FADs (dFADs). MSC’s main message is that it works to incentivize the most sustainable methods through market preference for MSC certified catch.

In a study published in scientific journal, Marine Policy, Guillermo Moreno, Miguel Herrera and Julio Morón of OPAGAC asks ‘FAD or not to FAD: A Challenge to the MSC and its conformity assessment bodies on the use of units of assessment and units of certification for industrial purse seine fisheries’.

The association considers that an industrial tuna purse seine fleet should only be certified as a whole, for its total operations, and not on “artificially construed components of the fishery”, referring to the mixed free-school and FAD fisheries in the WCPO, of which PNA and more recently also Tri Marine, received MSC certification for free school caught skipjack and yellowfin (excluding the FAD caught tuna).

While free-school operations in such fisheries have been certified as sustainable by MSC, OPAGAC states that fish caught in association with dFADs, however, is not deemed to meet the MSC standard and has not been accredited.

In response to the challenge, representatives from MSC told Atuna that it seeks to promote the use of responsible fishing techniques, and that “by allowing the separation of tuna caught using drifting FADs, anchored FADs and free-school fishing methods, we aim to incentivize a preference towards more sustainable techniques through market preference to MSC certified catch.”

MSC stresses that in the case of tuna fisheries where only part of the catch is seeking MSC certification, the relevant fisheries must be certified to the MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard, requiring that they keep MSC certified catch separate and clearly labelled from non-certified catch.

Moron believes, however, that “by certifying part of the catch, MSC encourages the misuse of dFADs and does not help to address the issues surrounding their use.” He says that if MSC wants to improve sustainability of tuna purse seining, all school detection systems should be included in certification, which OPAGAC is working towards through a Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) in cooperation with WWF.

MSC adds that “we are aware of the risks associated with one vessel catching both certified and non-certified catch and are working with certifiers to ensure that the MSC CoC requirements are effective and adhered to.”

This doesn’t just cover the strict separation of catch, but the weight of certified catch being recorded along the supply chain to guarantee that no substitution takes place, it explains.

The MSC certified free-school skipjack and yellowfin fishery in the PNA is used as an example by MSC as one that has developed a sophisticated traceability system to ensure effective segregation and identification of certified and non-certified catch. It explains that this starts at sea with specially-trained observers, and continues through separation and storage in on-board wells, through transhipment to carrier vessels, landing, and then through production.

Pacifical, the marketing arm of the MSC certified free-school tuna from the PNA, has also reacted to OPAGAC’s report and comments, stating that it fully shares the worries that the writers express over the possibilities of breaches of the MSC CoC in mixed fisheries. Managing Director, Henk Brus, says that he warmly welcomed the critical report, and that similar concerns were the basis of the PNA and Pacifical to develop, in 2011, an extremely stringent and totally independently monitored CoC system which is based on 100 percent on board observer coverage on purse seiners, and transshipment, as well as discharge; a scheme with over 20 critical control points.

“Pacifical feels fully confident that the PNA MSC CoC has the highest traceability standard in the world, and fully agrees with the writers of the report that any MSC CoC scheme where the operator himself has any influence over the decisions made on the final MSC eligibility, has no credibility, as it is in effect, self-certification. PNA exclusively uses independent third party observers from national programs and supplemented with surveyors in ports, and further there are other additional checks and balances in the scheme,” Brus adds.

OPAGAC believes that the minimum requirement of MSC third party assessors who certify purse seine fisheries should be to fully demonstrate how FAD-free can be clearly identified from FAD-associated catches. However, it states that even if this can be demonstrated, “it still leaves serious questions about the ethics of artificially separating catches taken by the same vessels during the same fishing trip where supposedly they only fish ‘sustainably’ part of the time.”

While MSC recognizes that there can be some risks with part-fishery certification, it is sure that assessments and checks are making sure these are not a concern. It adds that the MSC program provides a mechanism for demonstrating best practice, and drives change and improvement, noting that over the course of certification, the vast majority of fisheries are required to make at least one improvement to strengthen or further monitor the sustainability of their operations and in order to maintain their accreditation.

PACIFICAL launches Social Guidelines for Its MSC Tuna Fisheries

Pacifical cv has launched today its Social Accountability Guidelines for all vessels involved in its MSC certified sustainable tuna fishery. The new guidelines are unique as it covers over 300 industrial fishing and transport vessels from more than 10 different nations, working in one of world’s most complex and extensive seafood supply chains. The aim behind this initiative is to safeguard the welfare of the over 5,000 crew members living on board these vessels, which fish and distribute tuna in the remote waters of PNA Pacific Island Nations.

Purse seiner vessels fishing in the PNA waters for skipjack and yellowfin, and carrier boats transporting these tuna from transshipment ports in the region to processing centers, are operating in an area with a surface 40% larger than the United States. This means that crew members, often from countries like Kiribati, PNG, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China are on board these industrial vessels for very long periods of time, and usually spend limited time on land or with their families.

Working on board purse seine fishing vessels is very different to being employed in other sectors. Even on the newest and most technologically advanced purse seiners, fishing is physically demanding and not exempt of risks.

The multi-jurisdictional nature of fishing as well as the use of a commonly mixed nationality crew, adds a layer of complexity to the already difficult task of ensuring socially responsible employment standards are being sustained at sea.

The absence of any binding legal instrument, specifically formulated to ensure fair labor practices in the global fishing industry, which applies to all flag states (and the commercial fishing vessels under those flags), remains a challenging obstacle to the enforcement of workers’ rights at sea. Pacifical has therefore developed these Social Accountability Guidelines to protect the rights of fishermen and ensure that they have decent, safe and meaningful employment on board fishing vessels.

“There is no sustainably managed fishery without the people who participate in it. We are excited to introduce our Social Accountability Guidelines, ensuring to millions of worldwide buyers of MSC certified tuna carrying the Pacifical logo, that not only are these products in line with the strictest ocean ecosystem conservation certification scheme, but also that the fishermen behind their MSC tuna products, are being treated fairly and according to a social guideline that safeguards their welfare.” – Maurice Brownjohn, PNA Commercial Director.

These guidelines outline minimum requirements related to the employment; social protection, health and safety, food, accommodation, and medical care of fishermen at sea. The provisions of the Pacifical Guidelines are consistent with relevant international labor standards, such as the ILO Convention concerning work in the fishing sector (C188) and FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

These Social Accountability Guidelines are guided by:

• Decent Jobs – personal development and social integration
• Integrity and Fairness
• Health and Safety
• Traceability and Access to Information
• Transparency

Pacifical seeks to urge all vessel owners involved in the PNA MSC fisheries to start implementing these guidelines.

Australia Leading The World In Sustainably Caught Tinned Tuna

ELEANOR HALL: Australians can thank our Pacific neighbours for our access to sustainably caught tinned tuna. This nation leads the world in the availability of the product on our supermarket shelves.

And the credit is due to a group of small Pacific Island nations that established the world’s biggest sustainable fishery.

As Jemima Garrett reports.

JEMIMA GARRETT: Most sustainably-caught tuna is landed one-by-one by crews swooping on schools with rods and lines.

The Pacific is home to the biggest tuna fishery in the world.

There, skipjack, the most important canning species, is caught by purse seine vessels which take whole schools.

The catch of vulnerable species such as sharks and turtles increases dramatically when those purse seine vessels use floating fish attractors, known as fish aggregating devices or FADs.

The eight Pacific nations that own the fishery – the PNA group – have spearheaded their own FAD-free tuna logo called Pacifical.

It not only ensures high environmental standards but tells consumers these small developing countries are getting their fair share of economic returns.

PNA CEO Dr Transform Aqorau is the brains behind the project.

TRANSFORM AQORAU: In the supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand, when you pick up a can of John West tuna there is a story behind that canned tuna. You are supporting the small island countries of the Pacific, you are supporting sustainably-caught tuna, you are supporting a marketing platform that belongs to the Islands.

I can’t describe how proud and pleased I am about the fact that we have been able to get Pacifical and MSC canned tuna in the markets in Australia and New Zealand and also in the markets in Europe as well.

JEMIMA GARRETT: Entry into the Australian market was a joint effort between the Pacific island nations, the World-Wide Fund for Nature, the Marine Stewardship Council, which is the gold-standard for seafood certification, and John West Australia.

Graham Dugdale is John West’s CEO.

GRAHAM DUGDALE: It is a wonderful and brave move by the PNA Island group to actually take on this initiative. It’s the first time that the MSC has been granted to a fishery in a group of islands that actually uses normal purse seiner-type fishing, rather than pole and line.

JEMIMA GARRETT: The need for consumers to be given the option to buy FAD-free tuna is more urgent than ever.

In the past three years the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Alfred Bubba Cook has been monitoring an explosion in FAD numbers, and new sonar and satellite technology that has dramatically increased catches.

ALFRED BUBBA COOK: It’s really created a dynamic where fishermen are becoming too efficient. They are able to go out and harvest unprecedented amounts of fish quickly and more effectively than they ever have been able to historically.

JEMIMA GARRETT: The World Wide Fund for Nature was instrumental in getting John West together with the Marine Stewardship Council to provide a FAD-free option.

Patrick Caleo is the MSC’s Australian country manager.

PATRICK CALEO: The commitment by John West was one of the biggest commitments of its type around the world. Forty-three per cent of Australia’s canned tuna is now MSC certified. It is a fantastic commitment.

JEMIMA GARRETT: Each year, 100 million cans of John West tuna will carry the small white Pacifical logo and the Marine Stewardship Council’s blue logo. Every fish in every can can be traced from the place it was caught to the tin displaying the logos.

Transform Aqorau says it has been a costly exercise for the Pacific nations.

TRANSFORM AQORAU: It’s the training of observers, the training of the carriers, running the training for the fish factories. We’ve had to do all this for factories in Thailand and PNG, that’s producing those canned tuna, and it is ongoing training too because we get audited for all of those things.

JEMIMA GARRETT: If consumers vote with their shopping choices, other companies are likely to follow John West’s lead. But that won’t solve all the challenges for the Pacific tuna fishery. Powerful fishing nations such as China and Japan and the United States are still fishing on FADs, and catching endangered species.

ELEANOR HALL: Jemima Garrett reporting.

Strong Leader Of The PNA Passes Away

Nannette Dilly Malsol, one of the PNA’s most influential leaders, has passed away, leaving members of the PNA community both in shock and mourning this week as they remember the critical role she played in the group’s history.

Malsol, who held the position of Head of Palau’s Fisheries, died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer, leaving both her family and the PNA now missing a vital member.

Originally from Palau, Malsol was an important figure in the setting up of the PNA office, providing both guidance and leadership during its formation, with much of the success of the PNA having been attributed to the support she gave to the organization.

“My passion is to ensure ocean resources are abundant for our future generations to enjoy,” she said previously.

Malsol was also the first female Chair of the PNA, a position she held from 2012 to 2013 during a period of difficulty for the region, when PNA parties were struggling to reshape the Tuna Treaty with the US as well as get used to the process of the Vessel Day Scheme, which was fully implemented in 2010.

Holding both a degree in Political Science and Government from Guam University, and a masters degree in International Fisheries Policy from Wollongong University in Australia, Malsol was a highly educated and well-respected part of the PNA team.

“I always foresaw that Nanette Malsol would one day play a leading role in the PNA,” said outgoing PNA CEO Transform Aqorau, “and indeed the region because of her leadership qualities. Her illness and loss have deprived us of a strong leader but also a wonderful friend.”

Happy World Tuna Day!

May 2nd has finally come, the day in which communities, firms and NGOs all across the globe commemorate the existence of tuna and emphasize the importance of sustainable management to have it available for generations to come. World Tuna Day was first celebrated as a small event in 2011, in Alotau, Papua New Guinea; we are certainly happy to see that 5 years later, it has rightly become a global event.

What are you doing to celebrate tuna today?…Let us tell you what our team is up to:

Today Pacifical, PNA and the Pacific Small Islands Developing States (PSIDS) are gathering together for the first time at the United Nations in New York City to celebrate World Tuna Day on a global scale, with a special dinner event featuring tuna.

PNA Commercial Director, Mr. Maurice Brownjohn will be highlighting the decision of the 8 PNA large ocean states on their commitment to join forces and work together as resource owners to guarantee the sustainability of tuna within the Western Central Pacific, and the existence of this marvelous fish for generations to come.

As Pacifical Board Member and Director, Mr. Brownjohn will address the success of Pacifical as the global marketing company jointly set up by 8 PNA countries to promote the region among end markets, and actively trade its MSC certified sustainably caught free-school skipjack and yellowfin tuna.

Each PNA MSC product sold in the end market carries the Pacifical co-brand to represent the commitment of every retailer / brand owner / food processor / food service company, directly with the PNA island people. By choosing Pacifical Tuna, partners and final consumers around the world are supporting the sustainability of this vast ecosystem, and the people who depend on it.

Maurice Brownjohn said: “We are very pleased to see more and more organisations from industry, government, civil society and the UN celebrate World Tuna Day each year. This special event at the United Nations is in recognition of the nexus between sustainable development and the conservation and sustainable use of the tuna and other marine resources in the Pacific region and the world.”

His Excellency Mr. Collin Beck, Permanent Representative and Ambassador of the Solomon Islands to the United Nations will also address the delegates highlighting the importance of tuna to our Pacific Cultures, to our people, our livelihoods and to our sustainable development aspirations, but also to global food security, linking this to the historic international agreements related to sustainable development, including the creation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”

The event will end with Special Pacific Island dances and Island cuisine featuring tuna as the main dish prepared by Pacific Island Chef Arinteiti.

Meanwhile in the region, festivities will commence throughout the PNA over the course of the next two weeks, which will include its annual arts competition, featuring a cash prize for the very best piece of art, dance, writing or drama in celebration of tuna and tuna fishing. The winner will also see their work showcased on the PNA’s official website for future promotion of World Tuna Day. This has already been announced.

Be sure to join us on Twitter for the occasion and let us know what you are doing on World Tuna Day: #worldtunaday

Palau To Become First FAD-Free Zone In PNA

After efforts were first concentrated on closing all of Palau’s waters to commercial fishing, the country has settled at 80 percent for a National Marine Sanctuary, and has now stated that in the remaining part of its EEZ, only free-school commercial tuna fishing will be permitted.

The amended Act from the people of Palau, if fully implemented, will make the nation’s waters the first totally FAD-free fishing zone in the tuna-rich PNA region, which is home to the world’s largest MSC certified free-school purse seine skipjack and yellowfin fishery.

In updated regulations, the country notes that in order to protect Palau’s natural environment and natural resources, “it is appropriate to create the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, whereby eighty percent of Palau’s EEZ is a no-take area, protected from all exploitation.”

The document continues that domestic fishing will be limited to twenty percent of Palau’s EEZ, and the commercial export of fish from the country will be prohibited, with a limited exception for free-school purse seining in the Domestic Fishing Zone.

This ultimately means that foreign vessels fishing on FADs will be restricted from the entire EEZ, marking Palau as the first PNA nation to take such a bold, conservational move.

It is stated in the amended Act that currently, Palau’s fish stocks, including tuna and other bycatch, are being depleted by foreign fishing vessels, from which the nation “receives relatively little revenue in proportion to the value of the asset.”

The reforms noted will be implemented over a wind-down period, and by January 1st 2020, the National Marine Sanctuary will be fully functioning, the Act states. Palau’s EEZ covers an area of more than 600,000 square kilometers, and a chunk the size of Spain is now seeing all commercial fishing totally phased out.

Kick Off To Fifth World Tuna Day

Just a handful of days away, the 5th international World Tuna Day is upon us, as communities, firms and NGOs scattered across the globe work tirelessly to get preparations ready for this momentous day.

ISSF has announced its participation with the launch of its social media campaign, which will include a statement of support for celebrations by President of the foundation, Susan Jackson. Here at Atuna, we’ll also be taking part in marking the occasion with a tuna inspired lunch at our office, which will include three courses featuring tuna at the very heart of each.

The occasion is set to be marked on a so far unseen global scale, with a special two day occasion where PNA ambassadors to the UN’s HQ in New York will come together. Events will focus on the significance of tuna fisheries to the global food supply as well as its economic importance to island communities across the Pacific region.

Festivities will commence throughout the PNA over the course of the next two weeks, which will include its annual arts competition, featuring a cash prize of USD 3,000 for the very best piece of art, dance, writing or drama in celebration of tuna and tuna fishing. The winner will also see their work showcased on the PNA’s official website for future promotion of World Tuna Day.

Be sure to join us on Twitter for the occasion, where we’ll be promoting the event with #worldtunaday on our official @AtunaNews page along with various other firms, NGOs and consumers worldwide.

New CEO for the PNA Office

The time has come to say farewell to a highly appreciated member of our Pacifical family; Dr. Transform Aqorau. After six very productive years as the CEO of the PNA office, Dr. Aqorau is stepping down.

Responsible for a vast, pristine and sustainably managed body of water in the WCPO, the world’s largest MSC certified tuna purse seine fishery, and 50 percent of global skipjack stocks, Dr. Aqorau’s management record can only be worthy of high recognition. During his administration the revenue to the eight PNA island nations increased from USD 60 million in 2010 to an estimated USD 400 million last year. Thank you for your hard work and contribution. Dr. Aqorau, you will certainly be missed!

PNA officials have offered PNG NFA Deputy Managing Director, Ludwig Kumoru the position of CEO of the PNA office. We will keep you posted on this.

May 2nd: Celebrate World Tuna Day!

A day of joy in the Pacific; we are now counting down the days to celebrate and honor the existence of tuna in our daily lives. Tuna species play a key role in our existence, ecosystem, economy and national income.

On May 2nd all national PNA citizens of Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands or Tuvalu have the opportunity to win several awards by sharing their talent and telling the story behind the wonders of tuna and tuna fishing. We are excited to share the results of the PNA World Tuna Day art & talent quest with you. So stay tuned!

Don’t forget to join the discussion about tuna from today until May 2nd on Twitter #worldtunaday

Join us at the Global Seafood Expo 2016

We would love to see you at the upcoming Global Seafood Exposition beginning April 26th in Brussels. Please stop by to meet our team or just say hello. We will be at the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority Stand: Stand #8- 4461.

The event will provide a great opportunity to drink a coffee together and catch up on Pacifical MSC certified free school skipjack and yellowfin tuna, discuss business, bring you up to speed with our latest developments, and talk about what Pacifical can offer you.