TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 7
Italian ship owner Asaro's activities
in Italy and West Africa proved to
be sustainable by Friend of the Sea
I
talian ship owner Asaro's
fleet, which catches a
number of species in
the Mediterrean Sea and
the Atlantic Ocean off
the coast of Senegal, has
obtained Friend of the Sea’s
certification for wild catch.
The Asaro Matteo Cosimo
Vincenzo srl was founded in
1946 by Mr Gaspare Asaro
in Mazara del Vallo, in South West
Sicily, Italy. The introduction of frozen technology in 1960 has allowed the
company to expand its activities beyond the Mediterranean Sea.
A third-party auditor has assessed the compliance of the company’s
fishing activities with Friend of the Sea's sustainability requirements in situ
in Mazara del Vallo and Dakar. The assessment confirmed that all species
are frozen and packed on board according to a unique management
system. Traceability and labelling systems are in place to ensure that
certified wild caught fish is not stocked or mingled with other species.
The Twenty Four and the Francesco Padre fishing Aristaeomorpha
foliacea in FAO areas 37.20/21/23/26/24/25 have been audited in
Mazara del Vallo harbour. FAO General Fisheries Commission for the
Mediterranean's latest study (GFCM, 2016) stated that this species in
particular, commonly known as giant red shrimp, is not overfished. The
Twenty and the Orioneoperating in the Sierra Leone high seas (FAO areas
34.3.1) have been audited in the Port of Dakar for the following species:
Octopus vulgaris (common octopus), Arius heudelotii (catfish), Sepia
officinalis (common cuttlefish), Penaeus notialis (southern pink shrimp),
Parapenaeus longirostris (deep water rose shrimp), Pseudotolithus
elongates (bobo croaker), Cynoglossus senegalensis (sole), Pagellus belotti
(red pandora).
While labour conditions have been found to be respected, Friend of
the Sea recommends the company to put in place a system of carbon
footprint monitoring while assessing the overall impact of its activities on
the marine environment. Moreover, they are committed to installing CCTV
cameras on board in time for the next fishing campaign.
“We should always thank our fathers, Matteo and Enzo Asaro, who made
it possible for this company to become a leader in the Italian market,”
claims Gaspare Asaro. “What the fishing industry needs nowadays is to
increase its approach to protect the marine environment. For this reason,
we have chosen to join the Friend of the Sea project. In order to reach
long-term sustainability, the first step must come from us. One of the
first actions we took consists in reducing the catch of those fish (such as
Mustellus-Musuellus) that are more vulnerable.”
“We consider the affiliation of an historic ship owner such as Asaro an
important demonstration of the fact that the fishing industry is changing
for good throughout the years and generations of fishermen in Italy and
abroad,” declares Paolo Bray, director and founder of Friend of the Sea.
“Moreover, I’m confident that by awarding an important player operating
in the West Africa region, other companies will follow the path.”
www.
friendofthesea.org/
Italian ship owner Asaro's fleet, which
catches a number of species in the
Mediterrean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean
off the coast of Senegal, has obtained
Friend of the Sea’s certification for wild
catch
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