FCF Wants MSC For Its IO Longline Albacore Fishery

Taiwanese tuna company FCF is pursuing an MSC certification for its longline albacore catches in the Indian Ocean and Mauritius EEZ. The CAB, SCS Global Services, published the Announcement Comment Draft Report (ACDR) on August 22. The fisheries, on the high seas and in Mauritius’ EEZ, are considered separate Units of Assessment. The CAB has yet to analyze the Principle scores – target species, ecosystem impacts, and management system.

According to the CAB, there are 45 Taiwanese-flagged vessels in the Unit of Certification (UoC) that caught 2,600 M/T of albacore in 2023. Their cargo is landed in Donggang and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as well as in Port Louis in Mauritius. The longliners are not recorded in the IOTC vessel list. Atuna approached IOTC for clarification, but no response was received at the time of publication.

The deadline for stakeholders to submit their comments to the ACDR is October 22, 2024, at 5 pm UTC.