The Spanish tuna fleet united under OPAGAC believes that the time has come for Europe to open a debate and reflect in depth on the criteria the EU has currently established for fish product imports from Chinese fleets, due to the latest information made public by different NGOs and various Asian media outlets, on the degrading treatment of their crews, including burials at sea of sailors who, allegedly, fall victim to COVID-19. The denounced facts occurring on the Chinese ship […]
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The Indian Ocean’s dolphin populations may have declined by more than 80% since 1950 because of the use of drift gillnets to catch tropical tuna. So says a study[1] conducted by an international group of scientists in which Miguel Herrera, deputy manager of OPAGAC,[2] participated. It estimates that 4.1 million small cetaceans, fundamentally dolphins, were caught in drift gillnets as bycatch between 1950 and 2018. The study concludes that dolphin populations in the Indian Ocean today add up to only […]
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Last Tuesday in London the Spanish tuna fleet shared its APR sustainable fishing standard (“APR” stands for “Responsibly Fished Tuna” in Spanish), currently the only such standard in operation anywhere in the world that addresses both social and environmental sustainability. It is in fact the social side of the Spanish model that has drawn the attention of over 40 North-American NGOs from the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, who also want to develop a standard that encompasses the social side […]
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In June Spanish consumers will be able to buy the first tins of tuna bearing the AENOR Conform Responsibly Fished Tuna seal off Spanish distributors’ shelves, right on schedule according to the forecasts made last October by the Spanish tuna fleet organisation OPAGAC. Garavilla, the canning company that owns the Isabel brand, and Sálica, the canning company that owns the Campos brand, will be the first to offer products with the new seal. End consumers can rely on the seal […]
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The Spanish tuna fishing fleet has begun the process to assess all its fisheries to the MSC Standard for sustainable fishing, including operations in the three oceans (Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans) and for the three species it captures (Yellowfin, Skipjack and Big Eye). The objective of the fleet, grouped under OPAGAC, is to obtain the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. Independent auditors from Lloyd’s Register hired by OPAGAC will evaluate its fishing activities according to science-based standards set […]
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The Spanish tuna fleet, acting jointly through OPAGAC, has begun the process to enable canned tuna distribution and processing companies to earn chain-of-custody certification from AENOR. The Spanish tuna fleet is therefore making headway on the promise it announced last October and is delivering on its commitment to roll out the first cans bearing the AENOR “Atún de Pesca Responsible (APR)” (Responsibly Fished Tuna) certificate, which are due to hit Spanish supermarket shelves before summer. When that happens, the fleet will have closed the circle on […]
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Five stocks of tropical tuna caught by the Spanish tuna fleet, out of a total of 12, meet the sustainability standards necessary to apply for MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification, specifically the yellowfin, skipjack and bigeye in the Central-Western Pacific and the yellowfin and skipjack in the Eastern Pacific, representing 30% of the 380,000 tonnes fished annually by our fleet (3% of the worldwide total tropical tuna catch). MSC certification guarantees products from stocks in good condition caught by a […]
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A study by the Spanish tuna fleet in the Indian Ocean, three years after the inception of its Code of Good Practices, integrated in its Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), shows that the contribution of the purse seine gear to the mortality of main bycatch species is practically null, as compared to that recorded by other gears, such as longlines and drift nets. This study estimates levels of fishing mortality at 0,15%, for sharks and rays (generically known as Chondrichthyes), less […]
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The celebration of the IV National Tuna Congress was, without a doubt, a great success. We brought together about 250 people from different areas of our sector, such as public administration, the scientific world, unions, distribution, shipowners and sea professionals, but the main protagonist of the event was the final consumer of our product. In fact, the Congress served to announce the arrival of the first cans of tuna to the Spanish shelves with sustainable product certification, specifically with the […]
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The Spanish tuna fleet will invest 3 million euros this year in the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), which it develops jointly with WWF. With this figure, the global investment in this FIP, which was launched in 2017, will reach the 12 million euros. The objective pursued by the fleet is to achieve the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification for all its fisheries, in 2021. This year, the fleet grouped in OPAGAC (Producers’ Organization of Large Tuna Freezers) and WWF will […]
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