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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The Spanish tuna fishing fleet remains one of the most receptive and active worldwide in adopting International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) best practices for mitigating bycatch — a commitment reflected in the fleet’s high attendance at ISSF Skippers Workshops each year and as revealed in ISSF Technical Report 2017-03: ISSF Skippers’ Workshops Round 6. ISSF’s recommended best practices include using non-entangling Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and following handling-and-release techniques for non-target species (e.g., turtles and sharks) to maximize their survival. […]
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The Organisation of Associated Producers of Large Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC) has announced it will develop a global standard that guarantees responsible fishing and the sustainability of tropical tuna fisheries. The organisation has stated this commitment during the Our Ocean conference held this week in Malta, and has specified that the standard will integrate environmental as well as social sustainability, two inseparable pillars to guarantee the future of this resource on a global scale. To do this, OPAGAC has announced it […]
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Since 2016 the Organisation of Associated Producers of Large Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC) has been participating in the Common Oceans ABJN Tuna Project with a pilot activity run in partnership with the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) and the Spanish engineering firm Satlink. This initiative has proved that EMS (electronic monitoring systems) are an efficient way of improving tropical tuna fishery management in the Indian Ocean and are able to guarantee high standards of tracking, control and surveillance on the part of […]
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