Saving Seafood

Update to ISSF Participating Company Compliance Report Shows Improvement Across All Measures

November 21, 2016 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

WASHINGTON — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its Update to ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which shows a conformance rate of 95.6 percent by 25 ISSF participating companies as of October 31, 2016, across all 20 measures then in effect. ISSF Participating Companies account for about 75% of the global canned tuna market.

The November 2016 Update is based on audits conducted June 2016–October 2016 on measures where some companies had “minor” or “major” nonconformance. Improvements noted since the June 2016 ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitment Compliance Report was published include:

  • 14 companies were found to be fully compliant with all 20 measures.
  • 19 companies were fully compliant in 17 or more conservation measures.
  • “Minor” non-conformance with measures dropped from 11.6% to 4.4%.
  • All 6 “major” non-conformances have been corrected, resulting in the first 0% “major” non-conformance rate since the report has been published.

The ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report is published annually to track ISSF participating companies’ progress in conforming with ISSF conservation measures like these:

In addition to these summary reports, third-party independent auditor MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that document in detail each company’s compliance with conservation measures. This year, for the first time since ISSF started tracking and reporting company compliance in 2013—and in response to requests for deeper information—ISSF now publishes the individual company compliance reports on its website.

“That many of the tuna industry’s key players are conforming to science-based conservation measures, opening their books to independent auditors, and reporting their findings publicly, would be accomplishment enough,” said ISSF Board Member Dr. Bill Fox, Vice President, Fisheries, WWF-US. “But efforts to improve participating company conformance within the audit year—increasing the conformance rate by seven points in just five months—raises the bar for the industry and the market as a whole. And it represents continuous improvement in action.”

ISSF continually expands and refines its science-based conservation measures, which now number more than 25. New measures passed by the ISSF Board of Directors in October 2016—some taking effect in 2016, and others in 2017 or later—cover non-entangling FADs, product traceability, and fishing capacity management.

More Information about ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance

For long-term tuna sustainability, a growing number of tuna companies worldwide are choosing to participate with ISSF, follow responsible fishing practices, and implement science-based conservation measures. From bycatch mitigation to product traceability, ISSF participating companies have committed to conforming to a set of conservation measures and other commitments designed to drive positive change—and to do so transparently through third-party audits.

“We recognize that transparency underpins all of the initiatives we tackle, and all of the collaborative efforts we undertake,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Transparency reinforces the understanding that we are not only committed to making a difference, but to clearly demonstrate ongoing improvement in meeting that commitment.”

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to audit ISSF Participating Companies—assessing their compliance with ISSF’s Conservation Measures and Commitments. MRAG Americas conducts independent auditing based on a rigorous audit protocol.

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Announces New & Amended Conservation Measures on FADs, Product Traceability, Fishing Capacity Management

November 2, 2016 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation: 

Washington, D.C. — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today the adoption of new and amended conservation measures to facilitate continuous improvement across global tuna stocks and to reflect ISSF participating companies’ commitment to driving positive change. The measures address the use of non-entangling fish aggregating devices, or FADs; product traceability; and fishing capacity management — directly impacting how nearly thirty global seafood companies do business with vessels on the water, at the processing plant, and in the marketplace.

“When it comes to the global tuna fishing, industry must play a leading role in ensuring the long-term sustainability of global tuna stocks,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “With as much as 75 percent of the world’s tuna processing capacity conforming to multiple measures for sustainability best practices — and being transparently audited against those measures — ISSF can make real progress toward its goal of sustainable fisheries for the long term.”

Non-entangling FADs: Mitigating Bycatch in Tuna Fisheries

Scientific studies show that FADs, when constructed with materials such as loose old netting, can entangle vulnerable species such as sharks. To address this issue, ISSF scientists developed the ISSF Guide for Non-Entangling FADs. Research indicates that vessels fully implementing non-entangling FADs can completely eliminate shark entanglement — saving many thousands of sharks across ocean regions. While some tuna fisheries management organizations have already made the transition from traditional FADs to non-entangling FADs, others have not.

To support of the global transition to non-entangling FADs, ISSF adopted Conservation Measure 3.5 Transactions with Vessels that Use Only Non-entangling FADs. The measure stipulates that ISSF participating companies “conduct transactions only with those purse seine vessels whose owners have a public policy regarding the use of only non-entangling FADs” and that the policy should refer to the ISSF Guide for Non-Entangling FADs. The measure became effective October 18, 2016 and vessel owners have six months from that date to develop and publish their policies, which must require deployment of only non-entangling FADs within twelve months.

Product Labeling: Expanding a Commitment to Tuna Traceability

Adequate tuna product traceability records are necessary to enforce compliance with existing and future conservation measures, and also to eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Formalizing a commitment by the world’s leading tuna companies to make this information publicly available strengthens industry transparency.

ISSF adopted Conservation Measure 2.3 Product Labeling by Species and Area of Capture, which states that participating companies will identify 1.) all species of tuna and 2.) the ocean of capture for tuna contained in a product on all labeling or through a publicly available web-based traceability system, for all branded tuna products. The measure applies to all product labeling as of January 1, 2018.

Committed to Effective Capacity Management

“Unmanaged fishing capacity is the quickest path to overfishing. We continue to be concerned that there are too many tuna fishing boats on the water, causing overfishing of some tuna stocks,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson.

“That’s why ISSF has refined and expanded its capacity management conservation measures, through which the tuna industry — following scientific and environmental group recommendations — is urged to do business with only those vessels that already are on the water, unless new vessels are replacing existing boats that are taken completely out of service.”

ISSF announces new conservation measures in support of its existing capacity measures 6.1 Transaction Ban for Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels not Actively Fishing for Tuna as of December 31, 2012 and 6.2(a) Requirements for Inclusion in Record of Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels Fishing For Tropical Tunas. The new measures address investments in and purchases from purse seine vessels not in compliance with the preceding capacity measures.

The first of those new measures, 6.2(d) Investment in Purse Seine Vessels Not in Compliance with ISSF Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a) states that ISSF participating companies that are investors in any new vessel that does not meet all of the conditions in Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a) shall buy out and scrap existing capacity of large-scale tuna purse seine vessel(s) that corresponds to the full capacity of the new vessel. “New vessels” includes vessels owned, partially or fully:

  • Directly or indirectly by any ISSF participating company, or
  • Directly or indirectly by any individuals who hold controlling interests of any ISSF participating company.

The second of the new capacity measures, 6.2(e) Purchases From Purse Seine Vessels in Fleets With Other Vessels Not in Compliance with ISSF Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a), states that participating companies shall refrain from transactions in tuna caught by large-scale purse seine vessels owned by business organizations or individuals that also own large-scale purse seine vessels not in compliance with measures 6.1 and 6.2(a).

Finally, in additional support of efforts toward capacity management, ISSF amends one of its conservation measures regarding the ISSF ProActive Vessel Register (PVR). If purchasing tuna from large-scale purse seine vessels, ISSF participating companies must ensure that 100% of those vessels are on the PVR. Further, measure 7.2 Threshold Requirement for PVR Listing states that to be listed on the PVR, all large-scale purse seine vessels must be in compliance with all ISSF capacity measures and listed on the ISSF Record of Large Scale Purse Seine Vessels.

Amendments to Measure 7.2 Threshold Requirement for PVR Listing now stipulate that, in order to be listed on the PVR:

  • All large-scale purse seine vessels owned by the same business organization shall be in compliance with all ISSF capacity measures and listed on the Record.
  • If a large-scale purse seine vessel is not in demonstrated compliance, any and all large-scale purse seine vessels owned by the same business organization will not be eligible to be listed on the Record, and if those vessels are already on the Record, they will be removed.

All ISSF conservation measures are available for review in full at: http://iss-foundation.org/knowledge-tools/publications-presentations/conservation-measures-commitments/

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Annual Report Emphasizes Impact of Global Collaboration on Tuna Management

June 23, 2016 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) released its 2015 annual report today, Global Reach, Global Impact, which outlines tuna sustainability progress and achievements and argues for continuous improvement of global tuna fisheries through collaboration and advocacy.

“Since 2009, ISSF has advanced science-driven approaches to sustainable tuna fisheries and served as a convener and facilitator for collaboration amongst a diverse group of stakeholders that share common goals,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “In 2015, we continued to leverage this cross-stakeholder engagement to support and vigorously advocate to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).”

“We’re making progress toward the adoption and implementation of science-based measures that advance sustainably managed tuna stocks,” Jackson said, “and we’re pleased to share the global impacts of our work – from the water to the shelf – in the 2015 annual report.”

See the full report at the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation