What Went Down?
Getting a 360 degree perspective on the sustainability of Africa’s tuna industry was the goal of the 2nd African Tuna Conference in Abidjan. With over 100 participants from more than 20 different countries in attendance, some contentious topics dominated discussions.
Here’s just a taste of the talks that hit the conference floor:
Can Mixed Certifications Be Sustainable?
Julio Morón took to the stage, explaining that with a target of five years, the Spanish seiner fleet under OPAGAC is working to gain MSC certification.
Despite this announcement, he also challenged MSC and its certification of the free-school operations of purse seine fleets and fisheries. Morón questions how one component can be classed sustainable, while another method used by the same vessels, fishing on drifting FADs, has never achieved such certification.
For the Spanish fleet under OPAGAC, the aim will be to gain MSC certification for its purse seine fishery as a whole, he explained, covering both FAD and free-school operations.
This discussion didn’t get quieter in the corridors, with representatives from several NGOs expressing to Atuna that they took a similar standpoint on the matter, specifically pointing out the MSC certification of the free-school purse seine skipjack and yellowfin fishery in the PNA.
They indicated that it’s highly likely they will submit stakeholder comments during the PNA’s scheduled re-assessment -already ongoing- which will question the credibility of the fishery having MSC certification for only free-school operations.
Following the comments from OPAGAC, MSC has responded, stating that it seeks to promote the use of responsible fishing techniques, and that by allowing the separation of FAD and free-school catch, it aims to incentivize a preference towards more sustainable techniques.
More recently, MSC has said that it does not grant “FAD-free” certification. “MSC certification can apply to any tuna fishing technique, provided that it has been assessed to meet the MSC Fisheries Standard.”
Pacifical, the marketing arm of the MSC-certified free-school tuna from the PNA, states that it welcomes the critical comments, and that similar concerns were the basis of the PNA and Pacifical to develop a stringent and independently monitored CoC system in 2011.
Boatowners Calling For FAD Reduction
Despite an overwhelming consensus that better FAD management is crucial in all ocean regions, many at the ATC2016 were keen to express that scrapping FADs completely is not the answer to a sustainable industry.
Yvon Riva, President of Orthongel, said to the floor that while the French fleet is keeping its FAD use largely under control, he is concerned by the rising deployment of the devices by other fleets, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean.
According to his presentation, from the year 2000-2005 in the AO, 100-400 FADs were deployed per vessel. Aside from French seiners, he estimates that this has climbed to 1,200 per boat from 2010 to 2015.
While he agreed that scrapping the use of FADs completely is definitely not the answer for Atlantic tuna stocks, Riva said that there must be limits on the number of FADs each vessel is deploying, as well as restrictions on the amount of vessels actually operational in the region.
NGOs Confusing Retail Buyers?
The clarity of the sustainability message that retailers are receiving was questioned by Sustunable CEO, Henk Brus, who urged NGOs to come together to assert one clear criteria and request to the market.
Brus is concerned over the mixed messages that the likes of WWF, ISSF and Greenpeace are sending to retailers, stressing that stores don’t know for example: how much MSC they should stock, whether red listed species are okay in certain volumes, or if it’s enough to source from ISSF participating firms.
From within the audience, Wetjens Dimmlich was asked by a closing discussion panel why there is a mixed message coming from within WWF itself. In his presentation, Dimmlich stated that WWF does not promote sourcing from ISSF members as a fully sustainable option. WWF USA’s Bill Fox however has been quoted in US press as giving a different message.
Dimmlich explained that WWF USA is a large influential body in itself that often works separately from WWF as a whole. He confirmed that WWF International does not promote ISSF as a sustainable source of tuna for retailers, supporting MSC certification as the highest standard, and to a lesser extent, Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs).
So Who’s Paying The Price?
With lots of talk on the importance of the African processing sector for the EU tuna market in the conference room, Pierre Commere of ADEPALE was keen to share his thoughts on the increasing need for sustainability and social responsibility within the global industry.
He stated that while it’s positive that the sector is pressured to make social and environmental changes within its supply chain to meet the highest standards, the end buyer must be willing to pay the extra price that comes with it.
More checks and balances in both the social and sustainability standards of the fleet and also the processing industry, cost more money, stresses Commere. However, for now, he sees no indication that retailers are willing to pay the premiums, with the processing industry instead absorbing the costs.
Feedback from attendees stated that a lot was learnt at the two day conference, from what was considered a highly interesting agenda touching on the crucial issues the industry need to address.