The certification covers fishmeal, fish oil and canned or frozen products from Peruvian anchovy and canned or frozen products from pacific mackerel. The fishery is managed according to sustainable criteria and stocks are not overfished.
Austral Group SAA, a member of Austevoll Seafood ASA - one of the leading fishing groups in the world - produces fishmeal and fish oil as well as canned and frozen products from various pelagic species, including anchovy and pacific mackerel. Fishmeal and fish oil is sourced from anchovies fished in the South Pacific ocean by Austral's own fleet of 37 vessels.
“Austral Group takes environmental conservation very seriously and over the years has made great efforts to make its production sustainable,” explains Carlos Romero, Improvement and Change Superintendent. “We had already turned to Earth Island for the Dolphin-Safe certification, so it was natural for us to request Friend of the Sea assessment as it comes from an independent NGO and it is based on the data collected by our national marine institute”.
The Friend of the Sea audit, run by an independent accredited certification body with in-depth knowledge of the audited fishery, focused on anchovies, horse and pacific mackerel. Products from anchovies and pacific mackerel obtained certification at the end of the audit process.
The fishery is managed according to a system of global quotas (GQ) and it is opened and closed depending on the achievement of total quotas and/or the juvenile ratio. Peruvian statutory seasons/closures are based on anchovy's spawning cycle: a summer closure during January, February and March to protect the growth of anchovy juveniles, and a winter closure starting July/August and ending in October to protect the spawning stock. Among main regulations implemented all vessels must have a valid fishing permit and use nets with a minimum 13mm mesh size; the minimum fish size is 12cm with a 10% tolerance; if the presence of juveniles exceeds 10% in the daily landings at a port, fishing will be stopped in this port for a minimum of three days; fishing within five miles of the coast line is prohibited; vessels travelling through this zone are not allowed to stop and must keep a minimum speed of 2 knots; all vessels must have an operating satellite positioning system on board.
