April 19, 2018
What you need to know about BSF & the Yellowfin Tuna FIP
Fisheries everywhere are becoming more interested in utilizing sustainable practices to keep up with the ever-evolving seafood industry. Fishery Improvement Projects or FIPs are multi-step programs that connect fishery stakeholders and participants in order to aid in the improvement of the fishery's practices and management with the ultimate goal of gaining MSC certification.
Yellowfin Tuna is a vital export for Vietnam bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars annually. A Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) for Yellowfin Tuna began in April of 2014. Beaver Street Fisheries is a (FIP) participant and is actively committed to supporting the Vietnam Yellowfin Tuna fishery. The fishery is currently in stage 3: (Implementation) and in this stage, fisheries execute their proposed work plan and all progress is tracked.
The FIP for the Vietnam Yellowfin Tuna is focusing on three main areas of improvement: governance, fishing practices and environmental impacts of the fishery. Below are the efforts FIP Participants and Stakeholders are making towards the completion of the Yellowfin Tuna FIP in Vietnam.
- Completing a series of capacity and training sessions for the at-sea Observer Program, who will collect catch data with the goal of reaching a minimum of 10 percent on-board observer coverage for the fishery.
- Working within source fishing communities in the Phu Yen and Binh Dinh provinces, on logbook improvements, portside monitoring and overall fishery improvement awareness.
- Working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on fishery improvement activities and milestones related to Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission engagement, harvest control, risk assessment and other matters.
- Developing and implementing the minimum traceability standards necessary for bringing FIP products to market.
The target end date for the Yellowfin Tuna FIP in Vietnam is April 2019. The FIP objective is to reach MSC certification by 2020.
Additional information about related initiatives can be found on these websites:
www.seafoodsustainability.org/portfolio/vietnam-yellowfin-tuna/
