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First Tuna Fishery Wins Sustainability Eco-Label

 

06-Sept-2007 London - A tuna fishery operating in the North and South Pacific Ocean is to be awarded the Marine Stewardship Council’s coveted eco-label for sustainable fishing.

The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA)[1] tuna fishery, passed its full assessment today when independent certifier, Moody Marine[2] awarded AAFA its certificate. Products from the AAFA tuna fishery may now carry the Marine Stewardship Council eco-label (subject to a Chain of Custody audit) which will distinguish it as a certified sustainable and well-managed fishery. This is the first tuna fishery in the world to receive the accolade. 

The AAFA tuna fishery is a small, family-run fishery operating out of San Diego. The fish are caught using the poll & line techniques (and the troll and line techniques in the south Pacific) and its members pride themselves on the care they take to protect the marine environment. Skipper Jack “Bandini” Webster explains: “Tuna fishermen seem to get a bad rap in a worldwide way. Most of the fishermen who are left love the ocean: you’ve got to love it because it’s real hard work. Being certified sustainable is important to us. Fishermen who are doing the right thing should prove that they are and talk about it. That’s what this certificate is all about.”

There are 21 boats in the association catching around 3,000 - 4,000 tonnes of albacore tuna per year.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC says: “This really is a milestone event and one that demonstrates the applicability of the MSC programme to migratory species. The dwindling stocks of many tuna species are of increasing concern for consumers. The certification of the AAFA tuna fishery is a huge achievement for the fishermen. Because of the way they fish, the AAFA fishery has virtually no by-catch. By demonstrating their sustainable practices through MSC certification, AAFA is making it possible for consumers to make the best environmental choice in tuna.”

WWF US has sponsored the fishery’s assessment. Meredith Lopuch, Director - Community Fisheries Program, says: “If we want our grandchildren to have tuna on their dinner plates and in the sea, sustainable tuna fishing practices must be adopted. Certification of the first sustainable tuna fishery shows it can be done and if others change to improve their practices and follow suit, there’s a future for tuna and tuna fisheries.”

 

Notes to Editors

[1] Moody Marine is an accredited MSC Certification Body that has carried out fourteen of the twenty-three fishery certifications completed to date. Moody Marine is accredited to undertake both Fishery and Chain of Custody assessments and has fishery certifiers based in UK, North America, Scandinavia and Australia, and Chain of Custody auditors around the globe. In operation since 1999, Moody Marine has fishery clients in eighteen countries over seven continents

[2] AAFA is non-profit corporation formed to represent American “troll and/or pole and line” commercial fishing vessels engaged in the harvest of tuna. The board of directors believes that by promoting the environmental benefits of the “troll and/or pole and line” fisheries and promoting the health benefits of tuna consumption that the economic viability of “troll and/or pole and line” fisheries can be sustained. For more information, please visit www.americanalbacore.com

[3] The Marine Stewardship Council runs the world’s leading independent certification programme for sustainable fisheries. Currently 22 fisheries are certified and the AAFA tuna fishery with be the 23rd. 30 fisheries are currently in assessment and another 20 to 30 fisheries are in the confidential pre-assessment stage. Together these fisheries record annual catches of over 4 million tonnes of sea food (approximately 7% of the world’s edible seafood catch). They represent 42% of the world’s wild salmon catch, 40% of the world’s prime whitefish catch, and 18% of the world’s spiny lobster catch. Information on all fisheries in the MSC programme and up-to-date lists of all 760 seafood products bearing the MSC eco-label are available at www.msc.org

[4] WWF, the global conservation organization, is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations.  WWF has a global network active in over 100 countries with almost 5 million supporters.  WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.