02/10/2017
The Fishery improvement project (FIP) seeks to improve the pole and line tuna fishery, in south and southeast coastal areas of Brazil, to meet the MSC standard for sustainable fisheries after a 5 year implementation period.
2 October 2017: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between WWF, Thai Union Europe, ACTEMSA S.A. and Industrias Alimenticias Leal Santos LTDA; to launch a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) for the pole and line skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna fishery in the south and southeast coastal areas of Brazil. The aim of the FIP is to meet the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which assesses whether a fishery is well-managed and sustainable.
The FIP will focus on implementing actions that will improve the key areas of healthy fish stocks, minimal and reversible impact on ecosystems, and effective fisheries management – and ensure that resolutions and recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) are followed and adhered to with regards to the management of tuna in Brazil. The FIP will initially cover tuna from six Brazilian-flagged pole and line vessels. Once the FIP partnership agreement is signed, the FIP will be registered on fisheryprogress.org.
Beatrix Richards, Head of Sustainable Commodities at WWF UK said, “This is an important step towards addressing the sustainability concerns around the Brazil tuna Fishery. The sustainability of the world’s seafood supply is a critical global issue, not only for the environment, but also for human welfare. Our oceans are under more pressure than ever before, so it’s essential that global players like Thai Union take action to address sustainability concerns and that the wider seafood industry and civil society work together to find solutions.”
“We have made significant progress against Thai Union’s global tuna commitment to transform tuna sourcing for the entire industry. This FIP in Brazil comes after two significant FIPs that we announced this year in the Indian Ocean and Eastern Atlantic Ocean. We look forward to working with all our FIP partners to create meaningful change and deliver wild-caught tuna that can be MSC-certified,” said Sylvain Cuperlier, Group CSR & Sustainability Director, Thai Union Europe.
José Luis Escuris Villa, CEO, ACTEMSA S.A, said, “This is the first FIP that we are part of, and we are excited to be a key partner in promoting sustainable fishing practices in Brazil. We believe that sustainable fishing should be a shared responsibility across the entire seafood supply chain, and not just the duty of fishing vessels.”
Development of a work plan to implement the tuna FIP will begin immediately after the signing of this MoU, in consultation with WWF. The work plan will outline the major activities, improvement areas, course of action and key performance indicators that all partners will have to commit to achieve within the five year timeframe of the FIP.
###
About the Brazil Pole and Line tuna Fishery Improvement Project (FIP):
The Brazil Pole and Line tuna Fishery Improvement Project is an alliance-driven initiative to help the Pole & Line fishery in the region meet Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standard. The Brazil FIP is supported by the following partners:
Signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU):
About Thai Union
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for almost 40 years. Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 125 billion (US$ 3.7 billion) and a global workforce of over 46,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products. The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Bellotta and Marvo. As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized by its inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Emerging Markets (DJSI) in 2014. In 2017, Thai Union was named to the DJSI for the fourth consecutive year. Thai Union has also been included in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index.