Source: OCU - Organizacion de Consumidores y Usuarios
“Some canned tuna sold in Spain comes from illegal fishing.†So states a recent study by the Danish NGO Danwatch, which identifies some of those responsible for this uncontrolled fishery.
Fish abundance in many African countries leads to economic growth and food for the population. However, this wealth is not always adequately exploited: it is estimated that 40% of the catches is illegally fished, also known as IUU: illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This has serious consequences, since it involves the theft of the fish from African countries, it destroys ecosystems, it surpasses the amount of catches considered sustainable and, ultimately, it contributes to the population’s poverty.
In a recent study by the OCU on the sustainability of tuna fishing, we concluded that tackling illegal catches and fishing in a sustainable manner is essential to maintain populations of tuna and other species.
Objective: tuna
Tuna is one of the species that suffers most from illegal fishing, and how that occurs is as simple as failing to declare catches, so the fishing vessels fail to pay taxes, and implicitly steal the natural resources from Saharan African populations. The NGO Danwatch has researched the effects of illegal catches in Mozambique, and estimates that the country loses Eur 30 million annually, searching for those responsible.
Spanish group involved
During these investigations, the Danish NGO has found that one of the major suppliers of tuna to the European canneries, the Spanish group Albacora, is involved in continued illegal fishing.
The Albacora Group has one of the largest fishing fleets in the world, and is selling tuna in Spain under the brand “Camposâ€, in addition of being 20% owned by the Spanish multinational Jealsa Rianxeira, which is also a large tuna supplier. Only in 2010, the U.S. Office of Oceanic Administration (NOAA), revealed 67 illegal fishing acts by the vessel Albacora One in the Pacific islands.
More control urged
However, beyond the specific case of Albacora, this research reinforces the message that we are claiming from the OCU: more resources are needed to monitor that tuna catches are being made on the terms agreed between countries. To this regard, the EU has promoted a regulation, enforced since January 2010, in which the canneries should require their suppliers to provide the official catch certificates. This practice must now be put into practice.
Text translated from Spanish Organization of Consumers and Users site