The tuna purse seine and handline fleet of Frabelle Ltd. in Papua New Guinea have been certified sustainable by Friend of the Sea, the organization announced on Monday. The 21-boat fleet is the first-ever tuna purse seine fishery to be certified sustainable by the seafood sustainability organization.
“Purse seining can be a very selective and lower-impact [fishing] method if well managed and monitored,” said Paolo Bray, director of Friend of the Sea. “Frabelle’s fleet approval is strong evidence in favor of sustainable purse-seining practices.”
Frabelle PNG, part of the Philippine Frabelle Group, has both a processing factory and fishing base in the port of Lae. The fleet operates in PNG’s economic zone, mainly in the Bismark Archipelago Sea. The fishery produces tuna loins, sashimi and canned tuna for the local market and for export to Europe.
Frabelle’s targeted tuna stocks are considered moderately (skipjack) to fully (yellowfin) exploited. PNG has a comprehensive on-board observer monitoring program that gathers data for stock assessments, and all Frabelle vessels are equipped with an electronic Vessel Monitoring System.
PNG is harvesting 80 percent of its tuna quota. Furthermore, the Papua New Guinea government has implemented 22 marine protected areas where fishing is not allowed.
The Friend of the Sea audit highlighted Frabelle’s excellent waste management practices: Organic waste is sent to a fishmeal plant; scrap metal and used engine oil is exported to the Philippines for reuse; waste cardboard is sent to a packing factory (located next door to the cannery). Other garbage is disposed of in an approved landfill as per local government requirements. Wastewater is treated and sent to a PNG water plant for final treatment. The company is also Dolphin-Safe approved by the Earth Island Institute.
“We are proud to be the first purse seine fleet certified sustainable,” said Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr., managing director of Frabelle. ”Criticisms against this fishing method are often not supported by scientific evidence and Friend of the Sea science based impartial on-site audit has finally highlighted Frabelle’s fleet conservation efforts.”
