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Certification of Vessels: responsible tuna fishing UNE 195006

Responsible fishing: added value for the consumer

The sustainability of extractive tuna fishing is one of the challenges to be faced over the coming years. The way to implement optimum practices that really contribute to the industry's sustainability (its Social, Economic and Environmental aspects) is becoming one of the sector's key issues.

Certification of freezer tuna purse seiners based on the UNE 195006 Standard,addresses all critical aspects in the tuna fishing industry by fully auditing the vessels under the requirements stipulated in the UNE 195006 Standard..

AENOR's RTF Chain of Custody certification, shown by the AENOR Conform Stamp, lets consumers know which canned tuna products have been responsibly fished.

Main requirements evaluated by AENOR

Working Conditions: Social, health and safety conditions at work in compliance with the International Labour Organisation's Convention 188 (minimum age, medical check-ups, contracts, wages, time off, breaks between fishing seasons, staffing, sickness, repatriation, medical care, occupational health and safety and social security).

Control of Fishing Activities:

Flag State Licence and Authorisation
Authorisation by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)
Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS)
Fishing Logbook
Fishing activity control (24 hours a day, 365 days a year)
Catch Certificates

Health Control: Health Registration
Maritime Control:

Basic documentation of the vessel
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) No.
Vessel classification (including quick freeze cargo)
Protection and compensation insurance
Health Registration

Best Fishing Practices:

Use of FADs (Fish Aggregate Devices) to reduce gill netting of related species
Methods to release related species
On-board observers (human or electronic) in 100% of fishing process

On the other hand, any fishing industries that would like AENOR's RTF Stamp on their tuna-based products need their Custody Chain certified under UNE 195006 requirements to show that all tuna labelled with AENOR's Conform Stamp comes from RTF vessels certified under this Standard. Vessels must also participate in a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).

Related sectors

Food Sector: Product certification

Integration with other systems

Chain of custody audits may be fully integrated with BRC, IFS, ISO 22000 and FSSC.

Marks and certificates

AENOR Responsible Tuna Fishing Certificate for Freezer Purse Seiners
AENOR Responsible Tuna Fishing Chain of Custody Certificate for canning companies
User Licence for the AENOR Responsible Tuna Fishing Stamp

Responsible Tuna Fishing

Experience with certification

Over 40 vessels have currently chosen this certification procedure and several canneries have chosen to certify the chain of custody for their canned tuna.