MADRID, November 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Following a global commitment to sustainable fishing
practices, McDonald's Spain will be the first restaurant
chain to include Pacifical skipjack tuna certified by the Marine
Stewardship Council on their national menu. By January 2016, more than 490 restaurants will be
offering MSC certified tuna in their "Tuna Mediterranean
Salad".
"At McDonald's we have a goal to source all of our food and
packaging from sustainable sources. As part of this, since 2013 all
the white fish we serve in our restaurants globally in our
Filet-o-fish sandwiches is sourced from MSC certified fisheries. In
Spain, we are very proud to
announce that the skipjack tuna, which we serve as part of our
salad range, is now also MSC certified", says Ignacio Blanco-Traba, Sr. Director Sustainable
Sourcing at McDonald's Corporation.
Pacifical, the marketing and sales organization for the PNA MSC
certified tuna is supplying Frinsa del Noroeste, a leading European
tuna processor located in Spain.
McDonald's MSC certified skipjack tuna is being caught in the
waters of PNA nations in the Western Central Pacific Ocean. The
fish is cooked and cleaned in a local Pacific-based processing
facility, generating work and income to over one thousand local
families. The MSC certified tuna is later transported to
Spain, the largest fish processing
nation in Europe, to be packed and
delivered to McDonald's.
"We congratulate McDonald's for highlighting the importance of
sustainable catching methods and taking a leading step within the
fast food industry," says Henk Brus,
Managing Director of Pacifical. "Thanks to their commitment,
millions of Spanish consumers will enjoy sustainably caught
tuna and support the livelihoods of thousands of Pacific
island families whose lives depend largely on tuna".
Pacifical tuna is from nets set only on free swimming schools of
adult skipjack tuna. Fishing on free schools reduces bycatch to the
lowest level and ensures that the tuna caught is predominately of
mature size. This means that bycatch of unwanted species and
juvenile tuna is largely eliminated. Independent MSC trained
onboard observers monitor and record all fishing operations
according to the strictest MSC chain of custody (COC) standards.
Our COC ensures that the fish was caught in a sustainable way and
never mixed in with fish caught on FADs, or any other
non-sustainable fishing method. Around 40% of the world supply of
skipjack comes from the waters of the PNA, which makes the Pacific
island nations the single most important source of raw material for
the global tuna industry.
"In accordance with our sustainability policy, Frinsa favors the
acquisition of tuna catches caught by environmentally friendly
fishing methods, reducing bycatch of untargeted species and
negative impacts on the overall ocean ecosystem", says José Aller,
Frinsa's Head of Sustainability. "One of our principles is to
guarantee the total traceability and chain of custody, from sea to
plate."
"In 2011 McDonald's became a game changer in the white fish
sector, with the announcement to source exclusively from fisheries
that have met the rigorous MSC standard for environmental
sustainability. This new commitment by McDonald's Spain to introduce MSC certified tuna, is a
strong positive signal for tuna fisheries that are working towards
sustainability and recognition of the top performance of the PNA
nations. I am delighted that millions of Iberian
consumers will be able to enjoy McDonald's salads with one of
their favorite fish species, knowing that they are making a
responsible choice" says Laura RodrÃguez Zugasti, Program Director
of Marine Stewardship Council in Spain and Portugal.
About McDonald's Spain
McDonald's Spain opened its
first restaurant on 1981; today there are more than 490 restaurants
all throughout Spanish territory generating over 23,000 jobs.
McDonald's is the first restaurant chain to sell MSC certified
products and display the MSC logo in all European countries where
it operates. In 2011 & 2013, McDonald's Europe and McDonald's USA, respectively, elected to certify their
20,000+ combined restaurants to the Marine Stewardship Council
(MSC) Chain of Custody traceability standard.
About the PNA
The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) control the world's
largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. PNA Members, located
within the Western Central Pacific Ocean, are Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, Nauru,
Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. In 2011, the PNA skipjack tuna caught
without using FADs was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council
as sustainable, creating the world's largest sustainable tuna purse
seine fishery. About 50% of all skipjack tuna in the world is
caught within the waters of the PNA nations.
About Frinsa
Frinsa is one of the largest European manufacturers of
canned tuna fish and seafood. The company was founded in Ribeira
(Galicia, Spain) in 1961. The
company's main mission is to produce top-quality canned food,
focusing its efforts on meeting clients' expectations in a
sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. Frinsa is
the supplier of the major European chains' private label brands and
also manufactures its own brands FRINSA (gourmet) and RIBEIRA.
About Pacifical
Pacifical is the global marketing company jointly set up by 8 PNA
countries in 2011 to promote PNA and actively trade their MSC
certified sustainably caught free school skipjack tuna to consumers
around the world. All products sourced from MSC certified skipjack
tuna from PNA waters carry the Pacifical logo as clear
representation of the client's commitment with the PNA region and
recognition to those managing the stock on a daily basis.
About Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is recognized as the world's
leading certification program for sustainable, wild-caught seafood.
In collaboration with fisheries scientists and marine experts, the
MSC has developed two global, science-based standards. The MSC
Fishery Standard evaluates the sustainability of fisheries and the
MSC Chain of Custody Standard ensures that any seafood carrying the
blue MSC ecolabel is traceable to a certified fishery.