Anova Food Announces the First Handline Tuna Fishery in Indonesia to Enter into Full Assessment by the Marine Stewardship Council

Anova
Food, LLC., North America’s leading sushi-quality tuna company,
today announced it will enter into a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
full assessment for its premier Fair Trade fishery in North Buru Island,
making it the first handline tuna fishery to do so in Indonesia. Anova
worked closely with its processing partner, Harta Samudra, local NGO,
Masyarakat Dan Perikanan Indonesia (MDPI), and the North Buru Fair Trade
Committee to compile documentation for the rigorous MSC assessment, with
a site visit scheduled for late March where the Compliance Assessment
Body (CAB) will meet with government representatives and other
stakeholders.

“Years of data collection and sustainable fishery practices by Fair
Trade fishermen have set the stage for fulfilling the rigorous demands
of MSC certification for this handline fishery and we couldn’t be more
thrilled,” says Blane Olson, managing director of Anova Technical
Services. “Anova first launched the Fair Trade Capture Fishery in North
Buru Island five years ago and while it’s successfully been Fair Trade
certified, we’ve had our sights set on MSC certification as it’s
extremely important for us and our supply chains to reach the highest
available standards.”

Since the first Fair Trade certification in 2015, Anova has continued to
expand the program throughout its Indonesian supply chains. In 2018, the
volume of Fair Trade tuna shipped to the U.S. market increased by 75
percent, returning more than $100,000 in Fair Trade premiums back to
fishing communities. The fishery in North Buru Island has been part of a
fishery improvement project (FIP) since 2011, in which Anova took a
proactive role by supporting the implementation of rigorous port
sampling and data collection programs that met international standards
for scientific fisheries data requirements.

“At MMAF, we are proud and excited to see the first Indonesian handline
tuna fishery enter an MSC full assessment,” says Pak Zulficar Mochtar,
Director General of Capture Fisheries. “This assessment sets a precedent
not only for Indonesia, but also for small-scale fisheries around the
world for which the MSC standard is most challenging to achieve. This
has been made possible thanks to the hard work and commitment in the
past few years of all parties involved.”

The Fisheries Standard set by MSC is a rigorous assessment that is
founded on three principles, including sustainability of fish stocks,
environmental impacts and effective fisheries management. Through the
certification, wild-capture fisheries are recognized for setting the
benchmark for sustainability, continuing to ensure resources and
livelihoods for future generations. If the full assessment is
successful, the North Buru Island handline tuna fishery will join a
collective of more than 300 engaged fisheries that supply the world with
more than 25,000 seafood products.

"We congratulate and support Anova Food USA and the North Buru handline
yellowfin tuna fishery as it takes this significant step to enter full
MSC assessment,” says Martin Purves, Managing Director of the
International Pole and Line Foundation (IPLNF). “As the first handline
tuna fishery to enter this process in the region, this moment highlights
the growing momentum behind Indonesia's one-by-one fisheries sector and
the drive to demonstrate the value that a well-managed fishery can
bring, benefiting the fishers and coastal communities involved."

One of the key elements of Fair Trade and MSC certifications is the
implementation of a traceability system rigorous enough to trace the
fish back to the small-scale fishing vessel that caught it, and more
importantly, ensure that no substitution of non-certified product
occurs. The traceability system created for Anova by MDPI, ‘Trace
Tales,’ tracks each fish back to the individual fisherman and point of
landing, tracing a catch’s journey through the entire supply chain.

“It is extremely difficult to meet the MSC standard for a small-scale
fishery, composed of thousands of independent one-manned vessels that
operate on remote islands,” says Saut Tampubolon, Interim Executive
Director of MDPI. “The Fair Trade Committee (FTC) and Fair Trade
Associations, which have been in place in North Buru for five years,
give an organized structure for the MSC Unit of Assessment. This major
advantage of utilizing an existing FTC makes MSC potentially possible.”

For more information about Anova, visit http://anovafoodusa.com.

About Anova Food

Anova Food, LLC, is a leading sushi quality tuna company in America. Due
to its focus on quality and sustainability, Anova is the preferred brand
for many restaurant chains, food retailers, distributors, and value
added processors.

Anova Food, LLC has been a leader with their corporate commitment to
social and environmental responsibility to ensure a healthy supply of
fish for future generations. Its ‘Fishing
and Living’ program promotes
sustainable fisheries and enhanced conditions for fishing communities.
Anova is engaged in active and credible fishery improvement projects
(FIPs) with the ultimate goal of achieving MSC certification for its key
tuna supply fisheries. For more information, visit http://anovafoodusa.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190226005881/en/