High tuna prices likely here to stay, say experts at European tuna conference in Brussels

There was substantial agreement at the conference that the record price level for frozen yellowfin and skipjack is likely a sign of a structural shift in the industry, and consequently is here to stay.

There are two elements to this, said  Pierre Commere, Secretary of Eurothon, the European tuna canners association.  The first is an increase in demand for tuna, including in many emerging markets, and second, the reduction in tuna fishing effort as a result of sustainability efforts and restrictions imposed by some RFMO’s.

The result is that in Europe, prices for yellowfin for canning are up 80% in the past three years, while for skipjack, prices are up 86%.

World production of canned tuna grew about 21% over the past 8 or 9 years, and has continued to grow in the past three years.  Yet at the same time, there has been a reduction of 7% to 10% in fishing effort, and this has put pressure on prices. In Bangkok, frozen tuna reached a record price of 2350 per ton recently.

Commere explained that as consumers in many emerging countries reach income levels of $10,000 to $12,000 per year, they tend to start buying canned tuna.  As a result, countries like Turkey and Mexico which used to be net exporters of tuna now are importing tuna for their own consumption as well.  This is the structural change that is driving prices.

In addition to the economic analysis, much of the meeting in Brussels yesterday was devoted to sustainability efforts - and how best to drive them forward.

One key aspect was fishing on FAD’s.  MSC certified PNA tuna has been slow to reach the market because the chain of custody was just established this year - and it is very complex, as tuna vessels are allowed to fish on both FAD schools and free swimming schools.

As a result, they have to have 100% observer coverage, and to use different holds for fish.

Susan Jackson of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation pointed out that the problem was not FAD’s (fish aggregating devices) per se, but what their ecological impacts were.

She said that sets on FAD’s are about 90% successful, and sets on free school tuna are only about 60% successful.  She also detailed that the ISSF is researching ways to make fishing on FADs better in terms of bycatch and impact.

For example, one Indian Ocean study funded by ISSF showed that the use of nets below FADs- a common practice - is the primary driver of shark by-catch, accounting for ten times more shark loss than by-catch brought aboard a vessel. She called for an immediate ban on use of nets on FADs, and suggested that buyers demand their vessels adhere to best practices as being scientifically developed by ISSF.

On the other hand, Greenpeace is pressuring buyers to simply boycott FAD caught tuna.  However, as about 90% of skipjack is caught using this method, this is not likely to drive change.

Jackson also mentioned another study done by ISSF that found that sets on FADS with less than 1000 tuna had the same bycatch as sets with 50,000 fish.  By avoiding setting on FADs with low numbers of fish, many bycatch problems could be drastically reduced, while such sets would not be difficult for skippers to give up as they only account for about 3% of tuna landed.

It was clear at the meeting how strong an impact ISSF has had on the global tuna industry.  If there were two overriding themes in the discussion, the first was PNA’s efforts to secure MSC certification, which they have done, and to get volume’s of skipjack landed, which they have not yet done.

The second theme was the need for transparency, traceability, and scientific research.  In a survey of the money being spent to convince consumers to demand tuna sustainability by the moderator of one panel, it turned out that between them, the MSC, Greenpeace, Pew, SFP, plus industry through the ISSF, spent about $20 million annually.

However, only $2 million of this - the amount the industry funds ISSF for science research, is actually being devoted to science of the tuna stocks and practical improvements in reducing bycatch and reducing catches of juvenile fish.

It was obvious at the meeting that if more of the $20 million was spent on science and gear research, the shark and juvenile fish problem would likely be solved.  In this respect, Greenpeace denied that it was using the tuna campaign as a fund raising vehicle, and said they supported these positive changes in the fishery.

It was in this context that Chris Lischewski, CEO of Bumble Bee, said that he could envision a day when all skipjack, bigeye, and yellowfin tuna was MSC certified.  It would mean solving the problems of FAD’s, setting reference points, and showing that properly managed fisheries could meet MSC criteria - which in tuna would mean science based and ecologically sound fisheries management.