The Vietnam Tuna Association (VinaTuna) has become the latest member of the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF), the charity committed to supporting one-by-one tuna fisheries and supply chains.
VinaTuna was established in 2010 to represent the interests of Vietnam’s tuna fishers, traders and processors and to help develop the country’s tuna resource more sustainably and efficiently. The voluntary organisation is directly managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other government bodies.
Vu Dinh Dap, chairman of VinaTuna, said, “Together with our members and other stakeholders, this organisation wants to build a positive future for Vietnam’s one-by-one sector and the many coastal communities that it supports.”
“Joining IPNLF’s member network and working with it to achieve these goals is a significant move in the right direction, and we believe it will help generate additional value at many levels,” he added.
VinaTuna joins a growing global network of tuna supply chain stakeholders that are supporting IPNLF’s work to enhance the supply of one-by-one caught tuna and strengthen the value that these fisheries bring to their coastal environments and communities.
Jeremy Crawford, Southeast Asia director of IPNLF, said, “We are very pleased to be welcoming VinaTuna and the one-by-one fishers that it represents into our member network.”
“Tuna is Vietnam’s most valuable fisheries resource and one of its leading seafood exports, with approximately 2,000 one-by-one vessels landing around 20,000 tonnes of tuna annually. Our crucial role moving forward is to help these fisheries protect their rich heritage,” she concluded.
