Global tuna marketing company Pacifical has called on those fishing companies in its partners’ Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) supply chain to adopt the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS).
Pacifical advises that retailers and brand owners, sourcing MSC tuna from the Pacific, are aware that labour conditions in wild capture fisheries, such as tuna, are difficult to observe and monitor, due to the remote nature of their workplace, but that the RFVS certification can play an “important role” in providing assurances for crew members and their families, and end of chain tuna buyers.
It said the potential for workers in the fishing industry to be exposed to exploitation, due to the challenging environment of working at sea, is a reality, and also acknowledged that in some instances, there could be inadequate living facilities onboard the vessels, physically dangerous working conditions, lack of safety equipment, excessive working hours and low wages.
Pacifical partners, including Simplot Australia, producers of John West Tuna products, are backing the move to have vessels adopt RFVS in the Western Pacific region. Simplot sources 100% MSC-certified skipjack tuna from the waters of the PNA Pacifical Island nations.
Graham Dugdale, Managing Director Simplot Australia, said, “Ensuring that our John West tuna products are responsibly sourced is of paramount importance to our business. This extends beyond the way fish are caught, it runs through the entire supply chain and includes protecting the human rights of the people working on fishing vessels.
“Knowing that fair working and living conditions are undertaken on board these vessels is vital and integral to our business values. We are committed to increasing our visibility of human rights, enhancing practices, and remediating any issues that we may find.”
Offered by the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA), RFVS specifically focuses on ensuring the crew’s rights, their welfare and safety on board and provides comprehensive assurances of vessel best management practices from catch to shore. The standard was developed to be in alignment with International Labour Organisation (ILO) C188, the fundamental ILO labour conventions, as well as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UN International Marine Organisation (IMO).
It is not an industry based social accountability standard, but rather a one designed through a global multi-stakeholder engagement process.
Developed in line with ISO 17065 requirements to ensure that impartial, robust, and credible certification decisions are made by independent certification bodies. It is also the first vessel standard programme to apply for the new SCCI At-Sea Operations Benchmark.
Pacifical also highlighted that the PNA nation’s observers bring an extra dimension to social accountability on board as the “eyes and ears” onboard purse-seiner vessels. Daily, they monitor and report on everything that happens on the boat, including living and working conditions.
These observations will assist in continuously monitoring compliance with the RFVS programme, it said.
“Without these crews and observers hard work we would not have any sustainable tuna. So, ensuring their daily well-being is fundamental to us all. The RFVS governance is a further evolution of the already robust practices that we have in place across our Pacifical supply chain. With our fishing partners we will work closely together to further improve on-board practices and conditions,” Pacifical CEO, Henk Brus, said.
