The Tuna Purse seine fleet ANABAC continues implementing the Code of Good Practices for improving tuna purse seiner selectivity.

December 5, 2012

Throughout the month of November crews of the ANABAC purse-seine tuna fleet, in AZTI facilities and in collaboration with the ISSF (International Seafood Sustainability Foundation), have conducted workshops to improve selectivity of the purse seine fishery, further minimizing the potential impacts of this fishery on the marine ecosystem so that can be managed in a sustainable manner.

This workshops also addressed the possible technological measures to avoid by-catch of species associated with floating objects.
The workshops have focused primarily on two blocks:
(1) reduction of entangling and avoid possible mortality of sensitive species in floating objects, release and handling practices, etc..
(2) reducing mortality of non-target species: acoustic discrimination and escape windows.

During the workshops our crews have been informed of the experiences during research cruises on chartered tuna seiners and other ISSF projects working globally in mitigation of by-catch in tuna purse seiners.

The workshops have had a wide participation of skippers, captains and fleet managers of ANABAC tuna purse-seine fleet where everybody discussed freely about the possible measures to be implemented and the preferred options.

These workshops fall under the Code of Good Practices for tuna purse-seine fisheries signed by ANABAC (and OPAGAC) in February 2012.

At the end of the working sessions with the crews, AZTI coordinators of this project held today a meeting with the managers of the Purse seine companies to make a balance of these workshops and where it has been shown that there is great awareness among ANABAC operators in achieving the best possible fishing practices.