World's largest pole-and-line skipjack fishery teeters on brink of MSC certification

After three years of assessment, Intertek Moody Marine is recommending  MSC certification for the largest pole-and-line skipjack fishery in the world, but the fishery’s approval process could come to a screeching halt Friday, which is the deadline for stakeholders to file objections.

Certification would be good news for John West, Dansk Supermarket, Spar Austria and Anova Seafood, all of whom have put out public calls for more MSC certified skipjack in just the past week.

Located in the Indian Ocean and managed by the Maldives Ministery of Fisheries and Agriculture through the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the fishery harvests about 100,000 metric tons of pole-and-line caught skipjack per year, a volume just big enough to create a stir among buyers.