Grupo Consorcio’s recently launched ‘Eco’ line of MSC tuna in recyclable packaging has been well received by the consumers shopping at Carrefour. The Spanish canner’s new product range won the Innovation 2020 Award from the retail chain in the Bio category. This is the sixth year Carrefour recognized companies that have launched products that respond most effectively to new consumer needs.

More than 35,000 clients from Carrefour cast their votes for 650 products submitted by 150 companies. The 16 winners and the most innovative SME 2020 were awarded at a gala event held in Madrid on November 29. For Grupo Consorcio, this is a crowning achievement for its dedication to the sustainable and innovative production of seafood, according to its General Manager Ignacio Corral.

Ghana has introduced a new cheap smartphone app that enables small-scale fishers to gather evidence against the illegal catching of small pelagic fish by trawlers in the country's EEZ. The staple seafood reserved for canoe fishermen to sell to the local communities is being caught by these vessels.

The app called DASE was developed by the Environmental Justice Foundation under an EU-funded project. The user can take a picture of the boat's name and identification number and record the location when a vessel illegally fishing or damaging canoes or gear is detected. The app uploads the evidence to a central database when the internet signal is available. The government can use the information to capture and sanction the violators. The application is also useful for fishermen in other West African countries.

This week in a meeting with the High Commissioner of the UK to the Maldives, Vice President Faisal Naseem urged the UK government to consider the island nation’s request for tariff concessions on tuna exports. He reiterated that the country’s pole-and-line caught tuna is the most sustainably fished in the world. For years, Britain has been the main destination market for the Maldivian fish.

The Indian Ocean nation used to enjoy preferential treatment for its tuna products in the EU but in 2014 was stripped of its zero percent duty on canned tuna as it had graduated from the least developed country list in 2011. Currently, the UK is still negotiating trade deals with numerous nations due to Brexit.