Five years after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, the Meiho Fishery’s tuna in Shiogama-city, Miyagi Prefecture, has become the first in the quake-hit Tohoku region to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for its pole-and-line skipjack and albacore tuna.
Meiho Fishery was established in 2012 following the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake in March 2011. A lack of skipjack tuna prompted CEO Kenji Matsunaga to start Meiho Fishery Inc. This is now the first certified fishery in the quake-hit area and Meiho is only the third fishery in Japan to be MSC certified, following Kyoto flathead flounder and Hokkaido scallop fisheries.
This represents a milestone for the Tohoku region’s fisheries, and signals that collaboration, hard work and commitment has the power to improve the health of fish stocks, and provide hope for the many in the region who rely on this fishery for their livelihood.
“My experience of the Earthquake made me realise that delivering sustainable seafood to the market is inevitable for future and this belief inspired me to start this sustainable fishery,” said Meiho Fishery’s CEO Kenji Matsunaga.
“I am delighted that our fishery is certified by the MSC. Recently this fishery's parent company Meiho Co. Ltd., a processor, gained MSC Chain of Custody certification for all seafood from this fishery, and my next agenda is to promote our sustainable skipjack and albacore tuna caught by pole-and-line in the market.”
To achieve MSC certification, the Meiho fishery demonstrated that it meets a high bar of sustainability set by the MSC Fishery Standard. The MSC Fishery Standard is founded on three principles: a healthy fish stock, protection of the surrounding marine ecosystem, and effective fishery management.
Acoura Marine, conducted independent assessment of the fishery’s sustainability and impact on the environment and management system.
“I sincerely congratulate Meiho Fishery and CEO Matsunaga who has made every effort to get this fishery certified. I hope this certification will further develop Meiho’s business as well as raise Japanese public awareness on the importance of well managed sustainable fishery,” commented Kozo Ishii, MSC programme director in Japan.
Meiho’s two pole-and-line fishing boats catch about 3000 tonnes of skipjack and albacore tuna per year.
