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Tuna processing plant. (Photo: Stock File)
ISSF’s latest report reveals 97pct compliance with tuna conservation measures
(WORLDWIDE, 6/15/2018)
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its ISSF Annual Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which shows a 97 per cent conformance rate among the 27 ISSF participating companies audited.
Approximately 75 per cent of the world’s tuna processing companies participate in ISSF, and the organisation highlights that all of its 22 conservation measures were in effect during the audit period.
As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to continuously assess ISSF participating companies’ compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures according to a rigorous audit protocol.
ISSF publishes this annual report with initial compliance audit results in the second quarter of the year; in the fourth quarter of the year, ISSF publishes an updated report to show remediation of non-conformances reported in the annual publication.
The June report, based on the activities the participating firms carry out during 2017, shows that:
- 16 companies were in conformance with all 22 measures in effect during the reporting period.
- 10 companies had at least one minor non-conformance, for a total of 13 instances of minor non-conformance. These typically involved instances where companies achieved some, but not full, compliance with a given conservation measure.
- Four companies had at least one major non-conformance, with five major non-conformances found in total. As MRAG-Americas defines it, a major non-conformance means a company does not comply with a particular conservation measure or commitment, and this compromises the integrity of ISSF initiatives.
- On a conservation measure that became newly effective during the audit period, 3.5: Transactions with Vessels That Use Only Non-Entangling FADs, 26 companies were in conformance, and one company had minor non-conformance.
ISFF highlights that ehe rate of full conformance had been steadily increasing each annual reporting period, as shown across the below compliance report publication dates. The rate has ticked down slightly from 100 per cent in the previous audit report, which was an update to the 2017 annual report:
- June 2015: 79.8 per cent;
- June 2016: 87.2 per cent;
- November 2016: 95.6 per cent;
- May 2017: 97.5 per cent;
- November 2017: 100 per cent;
- June 2018: 97 per cent.
In addition to the annual compliance reports, MRAG Americas issues individual ISSF participating company reports, published on the ISSF site, detailing each company’s level of compliance with conservation measures.
The June 2018 aggregate compliance report will be updated in November 2018 to reflect changes in compliance by participating companies, and individual compliance reports for those companies that have addressed minor or major non-conformances within the 2017 audit period are already available on the ISSF website.
ISSF’s newly released 5-year strategic plan Advancing Sustainable Tuna Fisheries addresses tuna industry commitment to sustainability measures, and compliance reporting is a critical part of that plan.
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.
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