Tuna fishing. (Photo: Junta de Andalucía)

APR certificate consolidated in international fora against illegal fishing

The Spanish tuna fleet grouped in the Organization of Associated Producers of Large Tuna Freezing Vessels (OPAGAC) has been requested by the main international fora that work in the eradication of illegal fishing to expose its model of responsible fishing for tropical tuna.

After its recent presence in London, at the meeting promoted by the Seafood Alliance for Legality and Traceability (SALT), the Spanish fleet will return to the British capital and later will also exhibit its model in Brussels, Bangkok and Barcelona.

OPAGAC points out that, in this way, the APR (Responsible Fishing Tuna) certificate of its tuna fleet begins to be perceived as the benchmark to promote social sustainability in international fisheries due to the socio-labour aspect that it contemplates. In fact, the organization emphasizes that it is the only certificate in the world that integrates working conditions on board, according to ILO Convention 188, as a fundamental variable to distinguish a socially sustainable and responsible fishing activity, an aspect that does not take into account any of the most widespread eco-labels, including the certification of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

OPAGAC launched the Responsible Fishing Tuna Standard in 2015, in collaboration with the Spanish Standardization Association (UNE). Subsequently, AENOR developed a certification scheme. In June 2017, it certified 39 vessels in its fleet, adding seven more in December of that same year, totalling 46 certified tuna vessels. With this, the total catch of tropical tuna in its fleet (400,000 tonnes), which represents 8 per cent of the world volume, it is guaranteed to be a fishing activity supported by best practices in a triple socio-economic, environmental and of control.

The Spanish tuna fleet expects that this year and 2019 will mean a turning point for the tropical tuna fishery, one of the hardest hit by the interference of illegal fleets worldwide.

In fact, FAO estimates that currently a large number of crew members work under conditions that do not respect basic rights and there are still numerous cases reported by international organizations and NGOs, such as the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), for cruel treatment or child labour practices, in fleets from countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Russia or New Zealand, according to EJF.

According to the FAO, IUU fishing moves a global business of between USD 9,000 and USD 23,000 million.

In this sense, OPAGAC believes that the first steps to fight against this situation are already beginning to take place at sea and the time has come for the value chain of this product to be also involved in this same objective.

In this regard, it should be remembered that in 2017 Eroski committed that all the tuna used for the canning of any brand marketed in its network come from sustainable fleets. Other prominent distributors also show interest in supplying their customers with products that have social guarantees, but currently fishing certifiers do not contemplate this aspect in their sustainability principles. In OPAGAC's opinion, this situation hinders the promotion of sustainability in its three aspects: environmental, social and economic, as defined by the UN.

"The implication of the entire value chain of the product will prevent, for example, the EU from importing raw material from dehumanized and illegal fisheries for the consumption of European citizens," states Julio Morón, managing director of OPAGAC. "We can not tolerate the existence of fleets that commercialize their tuna catches with an ecolabel when the conditions in which the crew members of their vessels live and work are far from respecting basic social and labour rights."

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