Our commitment to
Marine Stewardship Council
Certification (MSC)

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a global, voluntary, and independent body that supports sustainable fishing practices and defines the standards for the responsible procurement of fish resources.

It is based on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) code of conduct of the United Nations for responsible fishing and is supported by the ISSF, representing the best international standard for sustainable fishing.

In particular, MSC guarantees that fishing activities are conducted according to three criteria.

  1. Fishing must leave enough fish in the ocean to ensure that the health of stocks is maintained, and that fishing can continue indefinitely.
  2. Fishing activity must be managed carefully to minimize its impact on the marine ecosystem, allowing marine plants and animals to prosper.
  3. Fishing must be responsibly managed by companies and be able to adapt to changing environmental circumstances in compliance with the national and international laws in force.

In accordance with ISSF, we believe that MSC certification is the most authoritative and credible certification for sustainable fishing, and we aim to promote it until it becomes a benchmark for the whole sector.

That’s why, within our partnership with WWF, we have committed to achieve 100% of our Yellowfin and Skipjack Tuna sourcing from MSC-certified fisheries and/or from Credible & Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) by 2024.

In addition, by 2030, for our global brand Rio Mare, we are committed to source 100% tuna from MSC certified fisheries.

Our partnership with MSC goes beyond certifying of our responsible fishing and aims to grow further.  There are several areas where we can create synergies, not only on fisheries but also on communication and promotion sustainable practices. We believe that together we can create a new approach to sustainable initiatives, building on our mutual strengths and creating a positive environment for sustainable change.

CREDIBLE AND COMPREHENSIVE FISHERY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS (FIPS) 

FIPs (Fishery Improvement Projects) are multi-stakeholder initiatives to improve fishing practices and managing of fisheries to help them meet the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard requirements.

The main stakeholders of FIPs include fishermen/vessel owners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government authorities, researchers and other members of the fishing industry.

A FIP can be defined as credible when all the following criteria are met:

  • Its actions are transparent
  • Clearly shows improvement in fishery performance
  • Can demonstrate fishery evaluation through robust and independent assessment process
  • Rated «A» or «C» in fisheryprogress.org

A FIP can be defined as comprehensive when all the following criteria are met:

  • A scoping document and MSC pre-assessment has been completed by an independent third-party auditor
  • An action plan has been established (max. 5 years length)
  • The FIP is in stage 3
  • The fishery is making progress according to the action plan
  • Progress is evaluated by an external independent consultant periodically for the entire duration of the FIP

FIPs are progressive improvement projects designed to ensure fisheries obtain specific results, within a specific time frame, amending any gaps to respect the standards stipulated by MSC certification.

Together with our suppliers we are engaged in developing several important FIPs aimed at guaranteeing the achievement of 100% procurement from MSC certified fisheries or fisheries involved in credible and comprehensive FIPs by 2024.

Our support to scientific research

In 2009, we were among the founders of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a global, non-profit organization whose members include the most eminent scientists, marine biologists and various NGOs, including WWF International.

We believe that each fishing method has its advantages and areas of improvement. For this reason, to ensure a holistic approach to tuna supply, we source from different fishing methods: Purse Seiners using FADs

Tri Marine has been our strategic partner for more than 25 years and is the exclusive supplier of the precooked tuna loins processed in our Cermenate plant.

We have been working together with WWF since 2017 to safeguard the health of the oceans and the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them.

We understand the importance in cooperating with public entities to develop new initiatives aiming at protecting our planet. For this reason, since 2014 our brand Rio Mare is partner with the Protected Marine Area of the Aegadian Islands (Italy, Sicily) is Europe’s largest protected marine areas.