Written by Natalia Freitas for atuna.com
Tuna CEOs Chris Lischewski and Juan Corrales talk about tuna and RFMO’s past, present and future
The lack of consensus about the tuna ban on the last IATTC meeting is still echoing among the tuna world. A lot has been said by governments and NGOs, and in many cases, politics can’t always be left out of the conversation.
The tuna industry however, seems to be the most interested party in this matter and it has a very interesting non political opinion on conservation measures. The tuna processing companies have realized a long time ago that tuna is a limited natural resource and some are very worried about the future of their business.
The CEO of Bumble Bee and Connors Brothers, the largest branded seafood company in North America with no fishing boats in the EPO, Mr. Chris Lischewski, was disappointed with IATTC last meeting’s outcome. He referred the organization as “once the leader among the RFMOs, today is ineffective in putting conservations measures in practiceâ€. On the other hand, Mr. Lischewski stated that the IATTC’s scientific recommendations should be accepted and his answer for those who use scientific uncertainties to stop the ban was: “I understand that science can be doubtful, but do those countries that are complaining have anything better to offer? The answer is noâ€.
The man heading Isabel, the second largest tuna company in Spain which has a tuna fishing fleet in the EPO, Mr. Juan Corrales, prefers to see the tuna stocks from a global perspective and affirms that common sense is essential when taking protective actions to tuna species. He believes that both financial and environmental reasons should be considered since the tuna business represents the jobs of millions of people. Mr. Corrales also said that most countries are already taking unilateral measures and doesn’t agree with the 90 days ban recommended by IATTC.
Although Mr. Corrales didn’t comment on the Commission’s decision making process, he still believes that IATTC is the one RFMO taking some quality action for the past few years in preserving tuna. Regardless his disagreement on scientific recommendations, Juan Corrales has a very realistic point of view on global issues related to tuna.
Isabel’s CEO made a strong criticism on countries that are fighting for the tuna ban and, at the same time, releasing more vessels on the sea. He also made an important remark in what comes to over catching in other zones than the EPO: “When we talk about the oceans, it’s a mistake to think it is a closed window, that doesn’t affect the other side of the world, but I know it’s an open window. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to have a 100 days ban at EPO while at the other oceans have no ban at allâ€.
The good news is that both CEOs believe that the industry can play an important role in saving the threatened tuna species. Chris Lischewski has no doubts that American consumers will make their own ban to tuna products if not environmentally sustainable. He affirms to be already feeling the pressure and that Bumble Bee will do anything on its hands to help guarantee a safer catch for tuna: “we are here to protect the species. Industry needs to play a bigger role to make countries comply with the measuresâ€.
From a very different perspective on the market, Mr. Corrales believes that it’s going to take a while for developing countries to become aware of the consequences in over-fishing. The world demand for tuna is growing and so are the prices. He believes that it’s imperative to know the catching capacity for each area and to forbid new boats in those waters without deactivating the old ones.
Despite all the problems, it seems that industry still sees the IATTC as a reliable source of information and model for the others RFMOs around the world. Nevertheless, its lack of decision making power is driving tuna companies to make their own moves to protect their most important resource and we are very likely to see greater actions in that matter from private initiative sooner than we expect.