By Undercurrent News
Netuno USA and other companies that source octopus from the waters off the cost of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula should have a good idea by the end of this month how close the fishery is to satisfying the Marine Stewardship Council’s standards for sustainability.
That’s how soon the auditing agency Scientific Certification Systems Global (SCS Global) expects to complete its pre-assessment of the area, Netuno USA says in a press release. A long-term fishery improvement project (FIP) is expected to follow.
The octopus and red grouper fisheries off the northern coast of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico are some of the most important resources in the region, with an average annual yield fluctuating between 9,000 and 16,000 metric tons. However, at present there are no ongoing FIPs involving the octopus fisheries.
SCS Global’s study kicked off with a meeting in early April at the facilities of Empacadora Promarmex, a major Yucatecan export plant, and was attended by Andre Brugger, Netuno USA’s sustainability and compliance manager. Netuno USA and Empacadora Promarmex are helping to sponsor the pre-assessment along with Orca Seafoods and LP Foods, a major importer from Asia. Grants are also being provided by the Resources Legacy Fund.
The will be made public once there are sufficient participants and stakeholders to begin a full-scale FIP, Brugger is quoted as saying.
