Tuna

Over the last few years, Croatia has set a path to introduce electronic data delivery for the entire fisheries sector. The progress is evident and the introduction of electronic data delivery is very well accepted by the end-users - fishermen, farmers, buyers and the administration itself. Commercial fishers can deliver catch and landings data on paper (logbooks or reports), electronically through e-logbooks, via an app, or by email. Up until now, nearly 40% of the fishing fleet delivers daily catch and landing data electronically/digitally or by mobile application. What is even more significant is that these data cover nearly 98% of the catch.

Barcelona based Frime, a specialist in tuna and swordfish, is spending EUR 16 million to construct a new processing facility that will be ready in 2021, quadrupling the company’s current processing capacity of about 10,000 tonnes per year. The family-owned business has expanded its turnover incredibly over the last decade and anticipates this will continue. Demand is strong in Hungary, Poland, the US, Central America, and Asia, Salva Ramon, Frime’s CEO, points out.

ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, the regional fisheries management body responsible for the conservation of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and adjacent seas, concluded negotiations at its 26th regular sesion by adopting a 15-year rebuilding plan for bigeye tuna. Although an imperfect plan in the eyes of many, it’s adoption was significant progress compared to the session last year, when the 52 contracting parties failed to agree on measures to protect the stock despite clear advice from the commission’s own scientists on the need to significantly reduce catches. The adopted plan reduces the total allowable catch forcing countries to make significant cuts to their current catches, a stricter limit on the number of fish aggregating devices (FAD) permitted per vessel, as well as an Atlantic-wide closure of FADs for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. FAD closure was previously restricted to the Gulf of Guinea for two months. Other business conducted during the 8-day meeting included amending the 50-year-old ICCAT convention to provide the commission with a mandate to manage sharks and rays, which will help in the fight against IUU fishing, and the adoption of a measure to implement rebuilding efforts for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin stocks.

In June Spanish consumers were able to buy the first tins of tuna bearing the AENOR Conform Responsibly Fished Tuna logofrom Spanish distributors shelves. The seal affirms to consumers that the product comes from a sustainable, socially responsible source. The certification logo only goes on products containing tuna fished by vessels certified under the Responsibly Fished Tuna Standard and belonging to a Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Program (FIP). The FIP ensures that vessels and their crews maintain the highest standards in environmental conservation. This certificate guarantees that the fish which distributors are marketing and consumers are eating have been caught by companies and vessels held to social, labor and maritime safety standards above what the law currently requires.