Bumble Bee, FCF Fishery and Ocean Outcomes aim to help ensure the sustainability of the albacore fisheries.

Bumble Bee Foods and FCF join in initiative to improve albacore tuna fishing

UNITED STATES
Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 21:50 (GMT + 9)

 Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, FCF Fishery Company, Ltd., and Ocean Outcomes announced an important initiative to improve fishing practices of the albacore longline tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean and Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

“As we procure a significant amount of albacore tuna annually to meet demand for our products, we are in a unique position to help ensure the long term sustainability of longline albacore fisheries,” said Mike Kraft, Vice President, Sustainability, at Bumble Bee.

“All of that tuna comes from healthy stocks. This initiative will launch two Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to help ensure those stocks remain healthy, while working to close identified gaps between current fishery operations and other MSC principles,” he highlighted.

Tuna longliner

Tuna management and tuna fishing practices are currently having a positive transformation, especially in the purse seine sector. Recent catch sector engagement initiatives,such as the Global FIP Alliance for Sustainable Tuna (GFAST), have made progress in addressing the challenges of international management of tuna fisheries, but there is also an opportunity to increase participation from Northeast Asian longline fleets.

“This bold step by Bumble Bee, FCF and their supplying longline vessels blazes a trail for key tuna catchers to join the sustainable tuna movement,” said Daniel Suddaby, leader of the project for Ocean Outcomes.

Bumble Bee obtains its albacore tuna through FCF, a Taiwanese company, which is a partner in the initiative, and it will work with their associated longline fleets towards improved fishing practices.

As a next step in the initiative, project partners are formalizing the Indian Ocean Albacore Tuna Longline FIP and the South Pacific Albacore and Yellowfin Tuna Longline FIP.

As part of the process, they are also developing FIP workplans and recruiting FIP participants.

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