Peruvian company Pesquera Centinela S.A. obtains
Friend of the Sea certification for fish meal and fish oil
Peruvian seafood company Pesquera Centinela S.A. achieves Friend of the Sea’s certification for fish meal and fish oil from Engraulis ringens fished in the South East Pacific Ocean (FAO Area 87) only by Friend of the Sea approved purse seine fleets.
Friend of the Sea’s standard for sustainable fish feed, fish meal, fish oil and Omega-3 certifies that the oil originates only from fisheries that are compliant with Friend of the Sea’s sustainable fishing requirements (including good fishery management, selective fishing gears and social responsibility) and that a full chain of custody is in place throughout the supply and production chain.
Pesquera Centinela S.A. operates as a subsidiary of The Romero Group. The two audited processing plants are located at Tambo de Mora and Chancay, North of Lima. 58% of the raw material used for fish meal and fish oil comes from the company’s own fleet, whereas 41% from a third party fishing fleet, which is monitored by the Peruvian Government.
According to the audit report, all employees involved in the production receive training on the chain of custody and the importance of the traceability system. As for social accountability, although in Peru a person aged 16 can actually work with parent authorization, Pesquera Centinela has an internal rule to employ only workers who are at least 18 years old.
About Friend of the Sea’s recent certification, Mrs Lucy Perez, Corporate Quality Chief of the company comments: “Pesquera Centinela is committed to the sustainable development of the Peruvian Anchovy fishery, in this sense all our efforts are aimed at the care of the fishery resources and the environment. We chose Friend of the Sea certification for its strict evaluation criteria and for its worldwide recognition as a proof of responsible behaviour with the conservation of the marine habitat. This certification will reinforce the confidence of our commercial partners regarding the sustainable origin of our products and will allow us to reach new markets”.
Even though the fishing season has not started yet, company’s environmental activities continue. Recently Pesquera Centilena performed a Beach Clean Up Day at the three processing plants located in Chimbote, Chancay and Tambo de Mora fishing ports (see picture below).
Employees also received a training in Quick Response to Oil Spills in the fishing industry (see picture below).
“We are glad that such a major fishing operator such as Pesquera Centinela has decided to embrace Friend of the Sea standard in an area, Peru and the Pacific Ocean, strategic for the future of fisheries sustainability” comments Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Sea.
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