Skipjack tuna. (Photo: Greenpeace)

Skipjack and yellowfin fishery gets MSC certification

The Solomon Islands skipjack and yellowfin tuna purse seine and pole and line fishery has achieved MSC certification. This certification recognizes that the tuna caught by the fishery come from well-managed stocks and that fishing practices meet the MSC’s robust requirements for sustainability.

Tri Marine and its subsidiary National Fisheries Developments (NFD) led the effort to secure MSC certification in the Solomon Islands and will now be able to increase the supply of tuna eligible to be sold with the MSC label.
 
This MSC certification follows last month’s announcement that Tri Marine had achieved MSC certification for free school skipjack and yellowfin tuna caught by American Samoan-based purse seine vessels in the Western and Central Pacific beyond the waters of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) including US territorial waters, the waters of several other Forum Fisheries Agency member countries, and the high seas.
 
“This most recent certification provides well-deserved public recognition of the Solomon Islands’ efforts to sustainably manage their purse seine and pole and line tuna fisheries and helps maximize the value of tuna caught and processed in the country,” said Matthew Owens, Tri Marine’s Director of Environmental Policy.
 
The newly MSC certified fishery operates in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) in the Main Group Archipelago (MGA) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Solomon Islands. It represents around 25,000-30,000 metric tons of skipjack and yellowfin per year and is unloaded in Solomon Islands, where it is processed almost entirely by SolTuna in Noro, Western Province.
 
SolTuna produces canned tuna, frozen cooked tuna loins, and fish meal and oil. Besides, its brands make up the vast majority of the canned tuna market in the Solomon Islands and are an important contributor to the country’s food security. The firm also sells tuna products to customers in Europe and the Pacific region, where there is increased demand for MSC labelled tuna.
 
Locally managed, NFD and SolTuna employ over 2,000 Solomon Islanders and represent one of the country’s largest private sector employers.

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