Holland & Knight Helps Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna Earn MSC Certification, the Highest Sustainability Standard for Wild Caught Tuna
MEXICO CITY (August 9, 2017) – Holland & Knight represented the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna (PAST), a group comprised of four leading fishing companies in Mexico, in its successful quest to obtain Marine Stewardship Counsel (MSC) certification, the only science-based sustainable certification and ecolabel for wild caught fish, for its fleet of 36 purse seine vessels that fish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.
The Holland & Knight team, led by Senior Counsel Carlos Véjar in the firm’s Mexico City office, helped PAST obtain a favorable decision in the objections procedure under the MSC rules, thus confirming without further appeal a sustainable fishing certification under one of the most prestigious and worldwide recognized international standards for fisheries. The objections procedure provides an alternative dispute resolution mechanism which allows any stakeholder to raise objections against the assessment of the sustainability of the fisheries. These objections are assessed by an independent arbitrator who determines whether the objections are sustained or rejected.
According to PAST, this certification will bring a new supply of healthy, affordable, ocean-safe yellowfin and skipjack to conscientious buyers and consumers.
About the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna: The Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna is a group of four leading fishing companies in Mexico – Grupomar, Herdez del Fuerte, Pesca Azteca and Procesa – working together to ensure the sustainable, science-based and responsible management of its fisheries for today and future generations. Together, its members represent over 90 percent of the yellowfin and skipjack tuna fished by Mexico and deliver a key sustainable and affordable protein for over 25 million families across Mexico and Central America, contributing significantly to the 300,000 jobs generated by the national seafood industry.