Response to Shark Guardian’s report on infringements in MSC tuna fisheries in Western Central Pacific, 10th May 2022
Shark finning is completely prohibited in MSC certified fisheries and we take the allegations contained in the Shark Guardian report, relating to vessels fishing in the Western Central Pacific, seriously. On receiving notification of this report via the media, we immediately asked the independent oversight body, Assurance Services International (ASI) which oversees our third-party certification activities to investigate the claims relating to shark finning and the other matters raised in the report.
Under our current requirements if a vessel is convicted of shark finning, it is banned from MSC certification for at least two years. In addition, if there is evidence of shark finning detected during the audit carried out by independent assessors, then the vessel must be expelled from the MSC certificate. We are fully committed to ensuring that these requirements are upheld.