Aquaculture for all

MSC Supports PNA on Tuna/Dolphin Issues

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GLOBAL - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has issued a statemnt in support of the certified PNA Western and Central Pacific skipjack tuna fishery regarding the fisherys negligible interaction with dolphins.

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MSC said the fishery, comprising purse seiners setting on unassociated, (non FAD) free schools of skipjack, was found to have successfully met the criteria of the MSC standard in 2011, following a full and independent assessment carried out by Moody Marine Ltd.

The information gathered during the MSC assessment provides independent and peer reviewed evidence that the purse seine setting on unassociated (non FAD) free schools of the PNA fishery is not targeting, or harming any species of dolphin.

To meet the MSC standard a fishery must be able to demonstrate that it does not put at risk population levels of species caught incidentally (bycatch) including dolphins, other mammals and/or other endangered and threatened species.

In the Public Certification Report, Moody provides evidence from independent observer reports for their conclusion that impacts on dolphins are negligible:

Marine mammals: the observed catches of dolphins and other marine mammals in these fisheries are very low e.g. around 0.0009 per cent for six different dolphin species. (Molony, 2005). The discard rate is very high (over 99 per cent) and post-release survival likely to be high.

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