Indian Ocean Tuna Operators Association.pptx

INDIAN OCEAN TUNA OPERATORS
ASSOCIATION
Seychelles Tuna Conference, April 8 2011.

THE TUNA INDUSTRY IN THE
SWIO ISLANDS
• Three of the SW Indian Ocean Islands, namely
Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar have a
tuna industry
• Between the 3 islands, the number of people
employed directly by the manufacturers represents
approximately 10 500 individuals, while more than
1000 fishermen are employed on the vessels; the
number of indirect jobs is estimated to be above
17 000
• In the factories, a large percentage of the people
employed are specialised workers within the
different organisation levels
• 80% of the total employees are women

THE TUNA INDUSTRY IN THE
SWIO ISLANDS
• For the tuna companies to benefit of a duty free
access to the European market – their main
target – they must use “originating fish”
• The unique source of this “originating fish” in this
area, is the European and Seychelles fleet. They
are the only ones able to supply not only the
necessary volumes for the factories, but also the
adequate quality

IMPACT OF TUNA INDUSTRY IN THE
SWIO ISLANDS
Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles
No. of Companies 1 7 3
Production capacity/
year
No. of direct labour
(tuna plants)
No of direct labour
(fishermen)
40 000t 110 000t 94 000t
1500 6000 2500 10500
1000
No. of indirect labour 3000 12 000 2200 17 200
Global sales € 50m € 187.5m € 130.9m
GDP NA 1% 5%
Tuna species YF, SKJ YF, SKJ, ALB YF, SKJ, ALB

THE TUNA INDUSTRY IN THE
SWIO ISLANDS
• A lot of effort – and investment – has been put
throughout the whole chain of custody, starting
with the fishing vessels, the reefers, the cold
storage, the canneries… to fully comply with
FDA regulations, and the European ones, in
terms of SPS and IUU regulations

THE CHALLENGES FOR THE TUNA INDUSTRY
• Our industry is under pressure due to external factors which represent
immediate challenges:
• FTAs and EPAs signed with countries of other regions, like the Pacific,
have a direct impact on the SWIO tuna industry and threatening its core
existence in the short and medium term
• Somalian piracy has led to the fall in the number of EU ships by 30%.
• It has a direct impact on the Indian Ocean tuna industry:
• A decrease in the supply of “originating fish”
• High costs of additional security measures (€ 500k per boat per year) for
the fishing vessels and reefers put at risk the fleets thus adding pressure
on the industry as a whole. Furthermore, due to the security rules of
engagement, productivity on the ships has come down by 15 to 20%

INDIAN OCEAN TUNA CATCHES
ALL FLEETS
In thousands of tons
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
Albacore
Big Eye
Yellowfin
Skipjack
0
2005 2006 2007 2008
The decrease in catches is mainly due to the impact of piracy and the
consequent reduction in European catches

THE CHALLENGES FOR THE
TUNA INDUSTRY
• Our industry is under pressure due to external
factors which represent immediate challenges
(contd.):
• Sustainability of the resource. Retailers, in
response to an increasing pressure from the
consumers, ask more and more for sustainable
fish. On certain markets it has even become
mandatory…
• The increasing pressure from NGOs against the
use of FADs and their concerns about the nature
and levels of by-catch

THE RESPONSE OF THE SWIO INDUSTRY

THE FACTUAL RESPONSE OF
THE SWIO TUNA INDUSTRY
• Faced to the sustainability challenge, the
whole of the regional tuna industry (from
fishing vessels to canneries) has decided
to regroup to work together and improve/
change their ways of working to minimise,
as much as possible, their impact on the
environment

THE FACTUAL RESPONSE OF
THE SWIO TUNA INDUSTRY
• The Indian Ocean Tuna Operators
Association has thus been created and will
work in close partnership with the Indian
Ocean Commission within their “Fishing
Program”, and of course, the Indian Ocean
Tuna Commission… and will involve all
other stakeholders of the region
• This Project will follow the FAO guidelines
but will go beyond the “resource” and
“environment” criteria…

CRITERIA CHOSEN BY IOTOA

INDIAN OCEAN TUNA OPERATORS ASSOCIATION

IOTOA
• IOTOA is a non-profit making organisation
• Our Association represents the whole tuna industry in the South
West Indian Ocean, comprising of European and Seychelles
purse seiners and tuna manufacturers from the Indian Ocean
Islands as defined by the Indian Ocean Commission
(Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Comoros).

OUR OBJECTIVES
• Create a platform of discussion for the different IO tuna stakeholders
• Work together, as purse seiners and producers, to improve/change
our ways of working to minimise as much as possible our impact on
the environment
• Adopt the best possible practices to comply with the protection of the
environment, both natural and social
• Comply with IUU Legislation and promote the fight against any IUU
fishing
• Adopt the best possible transparent practices in terms of traceability

OUR OBJECTIVES
• Ensure food safety
• Fully support the RFMOs and IOTC in
particular; encourage transparency and full
cooperation
• Contribute to the “Millennium Development
Goals” in terms of poverty alleviation,
respect of the environment, promotion of
women’s empowerment and gender
equality, and contribution to primary
education for children.

THE WAY FORWARD…

THE WAY FORWARD
• A pre-audit will be done throughout the whole
Chain of Custody of the 3 different countries
involved, within the coming 2 months, at the
initiative of the IOC and with the expertise of the
FAO
• Some fleet-owners, on their side, have also
already initiated a number of programs (as
presented earlier)

Our expectations, within the next three years, are:
together with all the stakeholders involved in the tuna
industry, to develop and implement new, realistic
measures, to support the marine environment and
contribute to the social and economic development of
the Indian Ocean region,
for the coming generations…

THANK YOU