Friends Of The Sea Ambitions For the Tuna Sector ff

By Natalia Freitas for atuna.com

The Friend of the Sea eco-label for seafood can be granted for both wild and ranch fisheries. According to the FOS website, all the fisheries certified by the organization target stocks which are not overexploited, use fishing methods which don’t impact the seabed and generate less than average (8%) discards. In the past two years, over 70 fisheries around the world have been certified by FOS.

This relatively new eco-label has been causing controversy within the environmental world since its creation. According to the Fisheries Managing Director of World Wildlife Fund, Bill Fox, the only seafood certification supported by WWF is the one granted by the Marine Stewardship Council. Mr. Fox strongly believes that the MSC certification is the most transparent and scientifically based within the sector.

Friend of the Sea certification relies on existing data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), therefore, it can be granted much faster and cheaper than MSC’s. Bill Fox also added that many different eco-labels could be too much for the consumers: “We believe that is confusing to the people to have all those labels, it should be only one and the MSC is the best organization to do that. It is the only one who meets the requirements of a real certification”.

The Greenpeace doesn’t stand for a specific position about FOS since the organization doesn’t endorse any eco-label on the market at the moment. According to Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace, Sari Tolvanen, the organization prefers to work directly with the retailers so they would take responsibility for the seafood they sell.

It is no surprise that the director of MSC’s East-Pacific office, Duncan Leadbitter, doesn’t approve FOS eco-label. The MSC logo and FOS logo are competitors in the market. However, Mr. Leadbitter is confident that seafood retailers will rely on MSC’s scientific studies and transparency when choosing a certification: “It’s hard not to say anything bad about Friend of the Sea, they are Earth Island Institute, the tuna industry already have the knowledge and an opinion about them to draw their own conclusions”, he finalized.

According to FOS’ director Paolo Bray, the following actions which have been taken or are underway within the global tuna sector:

CERTIFIED TUNA PRODUCTS FROM APPROVED FISHERIES

-Certified Products of Global Seafoods (producer), Jay Seafoods (producer), Decatrading (Trader), Covedis (trader and sushi producer), Manor (retailer). Approved Fishery: Sri Lanka bottom set shortlines for Yellowfin tuna.

-Certified Products of Generale Conserve (brand As do Mar, producer). Approved Fishery: Azores Pole and Line for Skipjack

-Certified Products of Frinsa SA (producer). Approved Fishery: Senegal Pole and Line for Yellowfin and Skipjack

TUNA PRODUCTS AND TUNA FISHERIES OFFICIALLY UNDER AUDIT (Audit result by end of September)

-Products of Jarla Trading and others (producers), Corema (trader), Manor (retailer). Fishery: Philippines Pole and Line for Yellowfin

-Products of Grupo Calvo (producer). Fishery: Brasil Pole and Line for Skipjack and others

-Products of Irish Albacore Troll Fishery (producer) and Sean Gavin (producer). Fishery: Irish Troll Fishery for Albacore Tuna

-Products of Euroseafood and others (producers). Fishery: Maldives bottom set shortlines for Yellowfin tuna.

PLANNED AUDIT of TUNA PROCESSORS

-Products of Jealsa SA, Frinsa SA, Calvo SA (origins other than the above)

FRIEND OF THE SEA AWARD

-Cleanseas (Stehr Group), Adelaide, South Australia. For closing the Bluefin Farming Cycle.

REFUSED AUDIT APPLICATIONS

-Main Spanish producers of farmed Bluefin;

-Bluefin wild-caught in the Azores.