Pole-and-line tuna fishing vessel. (Photo: Stock File)

First Atlantic skipjack tuna fishery to start MSC assessment process

Galician company Actemsa, together with its Brazilian subsidiary Leal Santos, has entered into the evaluation process of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) program that certifies sustainable and well-managed fisheries. It is the first skipjack tuna fishery in the Atlantic that undergoes full MSC assessment.

In case the fishery finishes the evaluation successfully, the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) caught by this company in the Atlantic Ocean will be entitled to bear MSC blue label.

Actemsa is a family business founded in 1994 dedicated to the global import and export of fish, mainly tuna and tuna loins, as well as tuna loin processing. The company belongs to Escurís-Villa family.

Brazilian company Leal-Santos is part of Actemsa group.

The certification unit consists of six pole-and-line vessels that capture around 5,000 tonnes of skipjack tuna in Brazilian Atlantic waters.

"This certification process is another effort by Actemsa to be at the forefront of the sector, in terms of environmental sustainability, quality, transparency and traceability of the catches," said José Luis Escurís Villa, vice president and CEO of the group. "Actemsa is committed to sustainable exploitation of the seas that allows us to enjoy these valuable resources both for ourselves and for generations to come."

More than 900,000 tonnes of tuna catches are certified against the MSC standard, of which more than 600,000 tonnes correspond to skipjack caught in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Laura Rodriguez, MSC director for Spain and Portugal, said: "Actemsa is a pioneer in bringing the best practices in skipjack tuna fishing in the Atlantic. This certification can mark a milestone in improving the sustainability of tropical tunas in the Atlantic. It is a great satisfaction that Actemsa joins our program and we hope that it will successfully complete the full evaluation."

The evaluation will be carried out by the independent certifier Bureau Veritas. The team will evaluate the fishery according to the three principles of the MSC environmental standard and will examine the health of the population of fish caught, the impact of the fishery on the marine ecosystem and the effectiveness of the management of the fishery.

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