The purse seiner ‘Beti Aurrera’ has been docked in the port of Madagascar for maintenance since early June and capsized on its starboard side just a day ago. Atuna contacted its Spanish owner, Albacora Group, whose spokesperson confirmed the incident, but could not comment yet as it is still unknown what caused the rollover in the dry dock. That has to be investigated before an official statement can be issued. The first reactions were posted on social media after news site Puente De Mando reported the incident. “I have never heard of anything like this happening. For everything there is a first time,” was one of the reactions.

The 85-meter-long vessel was formerly named ‘Playa de Aritzatzu’ and rechristened after the Albacora Group bought the seiner from Pevasa in January under its subsidiary Isabella Fishing, based in Seychelles. The vessel remained flagged to Seychelles with Port Victoria as its home base and has been listed under its new name in the IOTC vessel register as of February 3, 2025.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the requirements for the standard for canned tuna identity and filling of containers. This regulation will modernize and update food standards for the products in several technical ways, such as moving from the pressed cake method to the drained weight approach. Other changes may include removing provisions for specific flavorings and spices and revising the upper and lower levels of vegetable extracts in cans. The final rule is expected to be announced in October.

The change to canned tuna standards was in response to a citizen petition submitted by Bumble Bee Foods, StarKist, and Chicken of the Sea International. Standards for the identity and filling of containers of canned tuna were established in 1957. Although the regulation was amended several times, certain requirements are outdated, stated the FDA in 2023.

The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) announced last week that it “embarked on a country mission to Guinea-Bissau to discuss enhancing the nation’s fisheries transparency by implementing the FiTI standard.” The Initiative stated that it held discussions in recent months with the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, Mário Musante, and his technical team in Bissau to deliver a proposal for a Memorandum of Understanding between both parties for a sustainable tuna fishery in its EEZ. The EU and Guinea-Bissau renewed their fishing partnership agreement in September last year, allowing boats from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and France to fish in the tuna-rich Guinea-Bissau EEZ in the Atlantic Ocean for the next five years.

A FiTI statement read: “Discussions included ongoing dialogue on the advantages of improving sustainable fisheries governance in the country, as well as requests for these institutions and organizations to support the government and the Ministry of Fisheries throughout this process. These efforts will contribute to substantially improving fisheries governance in the country.”