New Group To Power Global Pole And Line Tuna Supplyff

By atuna.com

Good news for retailers who have made firm commitments to switch their canned tuna to pole and line caught skipjack, but so far failed to secure supply. A new organization promises to meet the increased demand for pole-and-line tuna by providing support to fishing communities and improving the sustainability of their fisheries.

The not-for-profit International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) launched this week to help pole-and-line fisheries increase the market potential of their product. Since pole-and-line fisheries are mostly small scale, they have been struggling in recent years to survive in an industry dominated by industrial purse seine fishing. With growing consumer awareness of sustainability issues and more retailers adopting eco-friendly fishing methods, IPNLF says it is now necessary to ensure the small fisheries can access the global market while supplying in a responsible way.

“Until now there hasn’t been an institution to ensure good co-ordination; there has also been no-one improving bait fishery management, safety at sea, fuel efficiency and so on.   The IPNLF will fill this much needed void. We will bridge the gap between demand and supply and all revenue generated will directly contribute to research and capacity building,” said Andrew Bassford, IPNLF co-founder.

While pole-and-line fishing is considered the most sustainable method to catch tuna fish right now, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has expressed concern over the future of bait fish resources, which pole-and-line fisheries depend on. IPNLF currently has a bait fish report under peer review that highlights the necessary first steps for proper management, said Bassford. It will be released in the coming month, but he added each fishery will be examined individually. “It’s a very difficult issue to give a one-answer-fits-all approach.”

IPNLF has already started work in the Maldives and Indonesia – two major pole-and-line producers. Bassford said they are working closely with the governments to develop each fishery in the best way possible and that includes addressing environment, economic and social factors.

IPNLF’s target market will mainly be canned tuna and it’s too early to give volume projections, said Bassford. The IPNLF strategy is to focus on the participation of their members – who are confidential at this time – and not overall tonnage, he said.

Pole-and-line fisheries produce about 400,000 tons, which is 10% of the global tuna catch, each year. The Maldives and Indonesia each produce 100,000 tons of pole-and-line tuna annually, according to a 2011 Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) report published by the ISSF.

IPNLF has not addressed prices yet, and Bassford said they will be focused on helping markets facilitate new supply chains instead of engaging in final sales.

“We’re not here to compete. There is a market and we will focus on that market.”

Earlier this year, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Western and Central Pacific skipjack tuna fishery was certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The PNA uses FAD-free purse seine vessels to catch only free-school skipjack tuna.

In the next few years, Bassford would like to see a selection of pole-and-line tuna available in every market.

“I think it’s quite clear there’s not enough pole-and-line to replace purse seine and I don’t think that’s what it’s all about. But it can certainly sit side-by-side.”

IPNLF will later look to expand its work to Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Philippines, Senegal, India, USA, southern Europe and small island states in the Pacific region. The Foundation expects the demand for pole-and-line tuna will continue to grow and will mainly come from the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Nordic countries and increasingly Australia, New Zealand, Japan and North America.