Pesquera Echebastar's tuna vessel “Elai Alaiâ€, that operates in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean tuna fishery, Pesqueras Echebastar, is striving for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. It is the first European tropical tuna fishery to enter full MSC assessment.
If successful, skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna captured by this purse seine fishery (using both free school and fish-aggregating devices) will be eligible to carry the MSC blue eco-label. The eco-label offers consumers assurance that the product can be traced to a sustainable source.
Food Certification International (FCI) will conduct the assessment, which is expected to take a year. The team will assess the fishery on the basis of the three MSC environmental principles with regard to sustainable fish stocks, environmental impact on the marine ecosystem, and the effective management of fishing operations.
Pesqueras Echebastar is a family company that has been fishing tuna since 1967. The company headquarters are in Bermeo, a small village on the Basque coast where the major part of the tuna fleet is established.
“There is great demand for MSC-certified tuna globally, and we are very pleased that one of the representatives of the Spanish tuna fleet has decided to join the MSC program. We wish them success in their MSC assessment,†said Laura Rodriguez, Spain and Portugal MSC country manager.
