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Paolo Bray |
THE Earth Island conservation effort has led to an almost 99% decrease in dolphin mortality due to industrial tuna fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, says its organisers.
More than 95% of the worldwide tuna industry (full list available at www.dolphinsafetuna.org) has joined the Dolphin-Safe project.
The ISO 9001 and 14001 quality certified monitoring programme consists of continuous onsite spot-checks of vessels and factories, fighting illegal driftnetting and dolphin-unsafe purse seining.
In 2005, the European director of the Dolphin-Safe project, Dr Paolo Bray decided to extend the concept and approach to all seafood.
The Friend of the Sea certification scheme applies a few simple but strict criteria in order to verify if tuna or other seafood, wild-caught or farmed, originates from a sustainable production:
a) the target stock cannot be overexploited according to the best official data;
b) the fishing method must be selective (max 8% discards, no bycatch of IUCN redlisted species);
c) it cannot impact the seabed; and
d) it has to be certified Dolphin-Safe by the Earth Island Institute.
Sushi tuna companies from Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles and Philippines and canned tuna producers in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ecuador have already applied to Friend of the Sea and several products have been certified. Among the certified tuna products are the Azorean pole and line tuna, As do Mar, Covedis, Decatrading, Global Sea Foods and Manor.
“The two projects are complementary,” comments Dave Phillips, executive director of the Earth Island Institute.
“Friend of the Sea requires the Dolphin-Safe certification for tuna and it also applies the strictest sustainability criteria, verified by independent certification bodies.
"This approach is in line with our mission and it has our moral support. Tuna companies are then free to decide which of the two messages they wish to deliver their customers.”
“Friend of the Sea principles are now part of As do Mar own policy,” adds Dr Vito Gulli, CEO of brand As do Mar, Italian premium market leader for tuna.
“We have always fully adhered to the Dolphin-Safe project and we had no doubt when we had to choose a comprehensive sustainability certification.
"We chose Friend of the Sea as its criteria are stricter, it is more affordable and its message is more consumer friendly.”
Mr Mark Berman, Dolphin-Safe project director, and Dr Paolo Bray, will speak at the upcoming Infofish international conference on Tuna next friday in Bangkok.
www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.
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