The Philippines’ line-caught yellowfin tuna fishery is the first fishery to take part in Artesmar, a new fishery improvement program (FIP) designed for artisanal fisheries.Announced by Switzerland-based Blueyou Consulting, the program partners with small-scale fisheries worldwide to improve their environmental and social sustainability while securing livelihoods for participating communities.
Blueyou started the Artesmar program in the Philippines in 2013, where the company has developed a vessel registration and catch documentation scheme for the artisanal yellowfin tuna handlining fleet. A traceability system that ensures every tuna is tagged allows for it to be tracked from the vessel to final products.The program recognizes high catch selectivity and low impacts on aquatic habitats as important merits of many small-scale fisheries and offers a framework for fishery improvement by using market incentives and socioeconomic benefits as drivers for more sustainable business and fishing practices, according to Blueyou.
“Artesmar links small-scale community fisheries to international consumer markets. With traceability being a challenge for many seafood products, we create an identity for seafood from artisanal fisheries and offer an effective and credible framework for fishery improvement towards certification,” Rene Benguerel, Blueyou managing director. “Consumers are showing greater interest in seafood from small-scale fisheries and many seafood companies and retailers are ready to strengthen their supplies from such fisheries.”
“The Artesmar FIP process provides a step-by-step approach to fisheries improvement. By addressing basic elements such as Non-IUU conditions and traceability first, we gradually move up the ladder and create a solid basis for long term improvements,” said Fabian Mollet, fishery scientist and technical manager of the Artesmar program. “Having firsthand, reliable data on landings is essential to any future informed management decisions for these coastal fisheries. Our improvement program is designed to serve as a stepping-stone towards MSC certification.”
“At the landing sites, we work directly with the local authorities and fishery stakeholders in order to combat IUU fishing and improve the data deficiencies that are often widespread in small-scale fisheries. Being part of the Artesmar program provides a beneficial environment for the required changes, which sometimes can be very challenging,” said Oscar Almaden, procurement officer of Meliomar Inc., a tuna processing and export company that acts as the local commercial partner of the Artesmar program in the Philippines.
The Artesmar FIP addresses the usual technical fishery elements and places a strong emphasis on food safety, quality as well as the value chain.
“Social elements and economic incentives are key to our involvement with community-based fisheries — all actors along the tuna supply chain must work together in order to achieve long term economic benefits and better managed coastal fisheries,” Almaden said.
“Social elements and economic incentives are key to our involvement with community-based fisheries — all actors along the tuna supply chain must work together in order to achieve long term economic benefits and better managed coastal fisheries,” Almaden said.
The Artesmar program is fully aligned with the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions (CASS) criteria, which set the benchmark for the effectiveness and credibility of a FIP. Artesmar is also recognized by the Ocean WiseTM program in Canada for offering a more sustainable alternative to conventionally caught yellowfin tuna products and is considered a “Best Choice” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. Artesmar has also been evaluated on FishSource.
With the first tuna supplies from the Artesmar FIP coming to market in 2013, the program has been steadily growing and, today, supplies more than 10 import and distribution companies in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region with responsibly caught, fresh and chilled tuna products.
