Seafood sustainability certification program Friend of the Sea has introduced new criteria for the certification of tuna from sustainable fisheries, requiring the use of non-entangling Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).
Commonly used by tuna purse seine vessels, FADs are often made from old nets that are suspended and weighted down from a floating section.
Recent studies have shown that the old nets used on FADs are the main cause of sharks and turtles mortality, said Friend of the Sea. It therefore expects its new requirement for non-entangling FADs to drastically reduce mortality rates of these species.
Friend of the Sea approved vessels will be obligated to use non-entangling nets and report on the use of FADs per vessel.
“We believe FADs, like any fishing method, have pros and cons, and should be managed in a way to reduce their potential environmental impact,” said Paolo Bray, founder and director of Friend of the Sea.
“Banning FADs or promoting only FAD Free tuna, like some NGOs do, only shifts the problem. For example fishing on FADs is more fuel efficient and carbon footprint is part of the impacts we all should aim to reduce,” he said.
