FCF Fishery Company (FCF) has announced that its joint investment, Nambawan, and its associated fleet, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PNAO/Pacifical as a commitment to maintaining Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standards while trading tuna harvested from Pacific Island Nations (PNA) waters.
Under the agreement, FCF will work with the PNA and Pacifical on criteria for certification and ensuring traceability and reporting from fish harvested to transportation, and processing into its semi-finished and finished products.
FCF has been a leader in multiple projects throughout the PNA region for more than 30 years. The company co-founded Nabawan, a state-of-the-art tuna processing plant located in Papua New Guinea, in 2011, along with TSP and TPJ, major fishing companies of the Philippines. The Nabawan plant, slated to begin operations in September 2015, has the production capacity of up to 200 metric tons of tuna per day, and has an exclusive agreement with FCF to the global market.
The agreement helps market the group’s MSC-certified tuna while promoting the long-term sustainability of the PNA region.
Currently, more than 60 FCF-associated fishing vessels are poised for MSC certification. Over time, this could make way for more than 200,000 metric tons of tuna, meeting the needs of the consumer market for future generations. The FCF vessels are also registered with International Seafood Sustainability Foundation’s (ISSF) Proactive Vessels Registry, which provides validation that tuna purchased by its members are meeting the ISSF sustainable standard.
FCF and PNA/Pacifical will be working together over the next several weeks to develop criteria and long-range plans to bring the project to the market, from “Ocean to Table.”
Last year, World Wildlife Federation (WWF) warned the two Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) covering the Pacific that the long-term sustainability of the Pacific Bluefin Tuna fishery can only be guaranteed by following the science and halving catch limits. WWF said only a 50 percent reduction of catches and stringent measures to protect juveniles can ensure a long-term sustainability of this fishery.
Also last year, Hyatt Hotels Corporationannounced a global initiative to increase its procurement of responsibly sourced seafood and eliminate the procurement of highly vulnerable seafood species, starting with an initial goal of responsibly sourcing more than 50 percent of its inventory by 2018. In the first phase of a long-term seafood sustainability strategy in partnership with WWF, Hyatt will also work toward purchasing more than 15 percent of its seafood supply from fisheries or farms that have been certified by the MSC or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).