The Solomon Islands skipjack and yellowfin tuna purse seine and pole and line fishery has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.

This certification recognizes that skipjack and yellowfin caught by the fishery come from well-managed stocks and that fishing practices meet the MSC’s robust requirements for sustainability.

Tri Marine and its subsidiary National Fisheries Developments led the effort to secure MSC certification in the Solomon Islands.

This MSC certification follows last month’s announcement that Tri Marine had achieved MSC certification for free school skipjack and yellowfin caught by American Samoan-based purse seine vessels in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean beyond the waters of the Partners to the Nauru Agreement, including US territorial waters, the waters of several other Forum Fisheries Agency member countries, and the high seas.

“This most recent certification provides well-deserved public recognition of the Solomon Islands’ efforts to sustainably manage their purse seine and pole and line tuna fisheries and helps maximize the value of tuna caught and processed in the country," said Matthew Owens, Tri Marine’s director of environmental policy, in a statement.

The newly MSC certified fishery represents around 25,000-30,000 metric tons of skipjack and yellowfin per year and is unloaded in Solomon Islands where it is processed almost entirely by SolTuna, owned by Tri Marine. SolTuna produces canned tuna, frozen cooked tuna loins, and fish meal and oil.

Around 842,000t of tuna caught in 2015 was eligible to be MSC certified, 16% of total tuna catches.

 

Source: https://www.undercurrentnews.com