June 4, 2019 — The Organization of Associated Producers of Large Freezer Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC) has contracted with certification body Lloyd’s Register to evaluate its tuna-fishing operations, a step forward in the organization’s push to achieve Marine Stewardship Council certification.

OPAGAC’s fleet operates in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, fishing 12 different stocks of tuna, including yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye. Collectively, it lands 380,000 metric tons of tuna per year, or 8 percent of the annual global catch.

“This is the largest tuna fleet in the world to apply for MSC certification on this scale which shows OPAGAC’s commitment to sustainable practice and fisheries management,” Lloyd´s Register Fisheries Manager Polly Burns said in a press release.

OPAGAC created a fishery improvement project in 2016 in collaboration with WWF, covering the entirety of its fishery. As part of the set-up of the FIP, OPAGAC contracted with consultancy MRAG to conduct a pre-assessment of the fishery. At the time, OPAGAC said it would pursue MSC certification within five years, by 2021.

“Through the important progress in the fishery improvement projects and now with the decision to enter it fisheries in three oceans for assessment, is contributing to accelerating change in the global tuna fishing sector,” MSC Director for Spain and Portugal Laura Rodríguez Zugasti said. “It is a great satisfaction for the MSC office in Spain that the Spanish tuna fishing fleet assumes leadership on the global action for sustainable fishing.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source