Korean tuna fishing company Dongwon Industries recently got its longline-caught yellowfin, bigeye, and North Pacific and South Pacific albacore catches in the WCPO MSC certified. Last March, Dongwon went for an MSC scope extension for its yellowfin (UoA10), bigeye (UoA 11), North Pacific albacore (UoA 12), and South Pacific albacore (UoA 13) catches to its already MSC-certified purse seine skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye.

All four UoAs scored above 80 for the three principles – target species, ecosystem impacts, and management systems. The report read that the main client is the same as per the existing certificate in Dongwon Industries, but with additional entity SNB International currently owning and operating one of the eight longline vessels in the proposed UoAs 10-13. All vessels in the fishery are flagged to South Korea.

Hundreds of workers from the Galician tuna and seafood canning industry in Vilagarcía de Arousa gathered on the streets on Saturday to demand their rights. It includes an increase in wages, a rights-based professional classification system, a reduction in working hours, improvements in workplace health and safety conditions, and concrete action to protect women workers’ rights. Major tuna companies such as Bolton, Jealsa, and Nauterra are headquartered in Galicia. The protest was organized by the trade union Confederación Intersindical Galega (CIG).

The unions CCOO and UGT, which were supposed to take part in the protests, withdrew last week after a mediation meeting with SIMA (Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service) in Madrid to first review the proposed changes to the labor agreement. However, this did not sit well with many workers, who decided to go ahead with the protests on Saturday. They claimed the agreement reached during the mediation was a “backroom deal that does not address the main demands of the workforce,” reported Spanish news sites.

Tri-Union Seafoods recently warned consumers that a third party, whose name was not revealed, inadvertently released quarantined tuna products that were recalled last February. The items, Genova Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil and Genova Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Sea Salt, were distributed to several outlets of Meijer, Giant Food, Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions across the US. “Consumers should not use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled. Consumers feeling unwell should seek immediate medical attention,” read a Tri-Union statement.

The products were recalled last year because they were likely contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria due to a manufacturing defect of the lid, according to Tri-Union, US subsidiary of Thai Union. The recall involved products of the Genova and Van Camp’s brands and private labels from retailers H-E-B and Trader Joe’s sold in several states, including Washington D.C. and New York.