Alex Seafood (PVT) Ltd yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius) have been certified Friend of the Sea. This small 20 vessels fleet in Negombo, Sri Lanka uses the multihooks deepset line fishing method.
The latest IOTC stock assessment for yellowfin tuna reports that the stock is not being overfished. The multihook fishery catches only mature yellowfin tuna which have already laid millions of eggs and complies with given catch limits, thus reducing its impact on the biomass.
Approximately 8 – 10 % by-catch was observed during the audit and reported according to scientific studies. This by-catch was composed of 4-5 % Thalpath, 2-3 % Swordfish and 2-3 % of Marlin all of which was either traded or returned to the sea alive. There was no evidence of shark fins, marine mammals, turtles, red listed or endangered species.
In receiving certification Kushal Weerasekara the Quality Control Officer of Alex Seafood states “I am pleased, this means we can prove our sustainability efforts to retailers and end consumers.”
For more information:
Alex Seafood (PVT) Ltd.
Mr Kushal Weerasekara – Quality Control Officer
asf_shaminda@yahoo.com
T: +94 773406116
Friend of the Sea
Paolo Bray –Executive Director
paolobray@friendofthesea.org
M: +39 3485650306
www.friendofthesea.org
