WWF Formally Objects to MSC Certification of Indian Ocean Tuna Fishery
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [WWF STATEMENT] By Wetjens Dimmlich, WWF Indian Ocean Tuna Manager - July 30, 2015
[Editor's Note: In a June 25, 2015 statement on the World Wildlife Fund's website, Daniel Suddaby, deputy leader of WWF's Smart Fishing Initiative, said the certifier for the Echebastar purse-seine tuna fishery noted that "critical fisheries management and controls are not in place" but that the certifier "still inexplicably recommended certification of the fishery, based on the hope that one day the situation would be improved. Hope is not part of a credible certificate and this simply is not following the requirements of the MSC standard. It is shame we have had to go to Objection to fix what is an misapplication of the MSC standard.“ The author of the following statement said on June 25, “To those of us actually working on tuna in the Indian Ocean, any claim made to sustainable management in the Indian Ocean is an obvious and potentially dangerous misrepresentation of fact, and undermines the integrity of the MSC brand. We are looking forward to the results of the MSC Objection process.” At issue is by-catch of juvenile yellowfin and bigeye tuna due to increased use of fishing aggregated devices (FADs), and the lack of managment controls. The WWF's most recent statement follows.]
In its Vision and Mission statement the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) promises to never compromise on the environmental standards they set...
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