The Ecuadorian vessel ‘Don Maca’ and six smaller vessels, which were reported missing in late March, were found last week off northern Manabí within Ecuador’s EEZ. All 20 crew members were safe. Authorities have to determine where the boats were located in the missing days, and investigations are still ongoing, officials said.

Six small vessels, led by the mothership ‘Don Maca’, set out on March 18 in the EPO targeting albacore, swordfish, and marlin. Within a week, relatives of the 20 crew members said they lost contact and the last signal of the boats was received near the Galápagos Islands. The small fleet, which had lost all satellite contact in international waters, was finally located, marking the end of one of the most critical search alerts in the Manabí fishing sector so far this year, reported news site El Universo.

Vigo-based vertically integrated fishing company Grupo Profand is keen on acquiring the Canary Islands-based Unión Martín, another firm with tuna and seafood operations at its helm. Profand, which is undergoing a restructuring process, is evaluating the deal prospects, reported Economia Digital Galicia.

In 2025, Unión Martín opened a -60°C refrigerated warehouse in the Port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to distribute more than 2,000 tons of sashimi grade tuna annually, internatonally. The facility is supplied by the fleet of Japan tuna. Grupo Profand operations include cuttlefish, squid, octopus, and lobster, and aquaculture for sea bream, sea bass, trout, and shrimp. Last year, Atuna reported that the Group won in the New Products category for its innovative Atún 360 line, which are value-added tuna products, at the 12th Anfaco World Tuna Conference.

The yellowfin catches of the already MSC-certified South Africa Albacore Tuna Pole and Line Fishery received the blue tick. The CAB, Control Union, published the Public Certification Report (PCR) for the client ICV Africa last week.

The fishery went for a scope extension in 2025 to add yellowfin. Units of Assessment, UoA 1 and UoA2, comprised albacore and yellowfin, respectively. UoA2 received scores of above 80 for all three principles – target species, ecosystem impacts, and management system. Over 50 pole-and-liners are operating in this fishery, where albacore is the main catch, and yellowfin and bigeye are captured as bycatch. In 2024, the boats captured 2,701 M/T of albacore and 497.8 M/T of yellowfin. “Albacore is supplied from vessels Whole Round, while yellowfin and bigeye are available Gilled and Gutted or Headed and Gutted,” read the report. In 2024, ICV Africa scripted history after receiving the sustainable logo for its albacore catches in the South Atlantic Ocean, making it the first fishery in the country to be MSC-certified.