Senegal’s Atlantic Ocean purse-seine tuna fishery has secured Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, becoming the first fishery in West Africa – a region where over 40 percent of the world’s illegal fishing occurs – and the fourth across the continent to achieve the credential.
“West African Atlantic fisheries are among the world’s most productive but are increasingly threatened by high fishing pressure and unsustainable management practices,” Edouard Le Bart, MSC’s regional program director for Southern Europe and Africa, said. “The certification marks a transition to sustainable fishing in the region and is a major win for regional fisheries management and the people of Senegal.”
The fishery, which is regionally managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, targets Atlantic bigeye, eastern Atlantic skipjack, and Atlantic yellowfin through free-school and fish aggregating device (FAD)-assisted purse-seine sets. Vessels operating in the fishery are flagged to Senegal and operate in the exclusive economic zones and high seas of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
The fishery initially had a deadline of April 2025 to comply with MSC certification standards, such as ensuring that the catch of target tuna and other primary species do not exceed sustainable levels, prioritizing an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, and promoting best FAD practices.
Fishing companies Compagnie Africaine de Pêche au Sénégal S.A. (CAPSEN) – a division of South Korean fishing firm Dongwon Industries – and Dakar, Senegal-based Grand Bleu S.A. are the fishery’s representatives to the MSC. Both companies worked to implement improvements per MSC guidelines and, in doing so, secured the credential five months before the deadline.
Both firms implemented improvements during the MSC’s pre-assessment phase, including introducing a digital template for gathering catch information at sea, and maintaining an accurate record of unintentional interactions with endangered, threatened, and protected species.