Friend of the Sea has announced that the 21 vessel purse seine and handline fleet of Frabelle (PNG) Ltd have been found compliant to the scheme’s strict sustainability criteria. The fishery is the first ever tuna purse seine fleet to be approved sustainable.
“Purse seining can be a very selective and lower impact method if well managed and monitored,” explains Paolo Bray, director of Friend of the Sea “Frabelle's fleet approval is strong evidence in favour of sustainable purse seining practices”.
Frabelle PNG - part of the Philippine Frabelle Group – has both processing factory and sea fishing base in the port of Lae. The fleet operates in the Papua New Guinea economic zone outside the 12 miles zone, mainly in the Bismark Archipelago Sea. Loins, sashimi and canned tuna are sold to the PNG local market and Europe.
Frabelle's targeted tuna stocks are considered moderately (skipjack) to fully (yellowfin) exploited. PNG has a comprehensive (100%) onboard observer monitoring program which helps acquiring valuable data for stock assessments. Currently PNG is using only 80% of its quota. Furthermore the Government of Papua New Guinea has implemented 22 Marine Protected Areas. The fleet does not fish in the MPAs and operates well away from coral reefs. All vessels are equipped with an electronic Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) monitored 24/7 by the VMS system of NFA-PNG, Fisheries Forum Agency and WCPFC Commission.
The purse seine fishery for yellowfin and skipjack tuna in the WCP catches almost exclusively tuna (98%). Other bycatch is Rainbow runner and less than 0.5% sharks and others. Morobe Provincial Fisheries staff jointly with village representatives, check fish unloading, including bycatch from handline boats at Lae wharf. Frabelle lands its entire catch, including all bycatch and dead/dying fish. Undersize tuna are still processed and waste fish are sent to the fishmeal plant. Any rarely caught dolphins, turtles or sharks are either herded out of nets or returned to the sea promptly. The company is also Dolphin-Safe approved by the Earth Island Institute.
