China’s tuna fleet is hoping for new access to the Japanese market after securing a key sustainability certification.
The Jinghai Group Co is one of four fishing firms in China’s port of Rongcheng that have collectively secured the Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries (OPRT) for 14 long-line vessels operating in the Pacific. The certification is awarded by a Japan-based entity of the same name.
“The certification will allow Rongcheng fishing companies direct access to the Japanese market, which is the biggest tuna market in the world,” a statement from the city’s Ocean and Fisheries Bureau noted. “Before this, we had to export to other third countries.”
One of China’s leading fishing ports, Rongcheng is home to a large distant-water fleet, and has been a processing base on China’s east coast. The city’s fisheries companies have catch capacity for 34,000 tons of tuna per year and have bases in numerous island states, including Madagascar, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, according to the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.
Photo courtesy of Jinghai Group
