An artisanal fishery in northern Spain has become the first MSC-certified octopus fishery. Octopus from four artisanal fishing guilds in western Asturias can now carry the MSC ecolabel.
The Asturian fishing guilds Nuestra Señora de la Atalaya de Puerto de Vega, Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Ortiguera, Santo Ángel de la Guarda de Viavélez and San Pedro de Tapia de Casariego, jointly entered MSC full assessment to demonstrate the sustainability of their practices and the health of the stock. The fleet is made up of 27 boats based in the Navia-Porcía region of western Asturias and employs only artisanal fishermen.
‘We are very pleased to be the first octopus fishery in the world to be recognised as sustainable,’ commented Adolfo García Méndez Main, skipper of Fishermen Association of Nuestra Señora de la Atalaya, Puerto de la Vega, representing the four guilds.
‘Achieving MSC certification is a recognition of our commitment to sustainability. It’s been more than a year of hard work from all of us artisanal fishermen from the West Asturias region. We are committed to protecting our ocean because we know that the future of our coastal communities and the sustainability of the environment depends on it.’
The octopus is an extraordinary animal, capable of changing its colour, texture and shape to escape from predators. The octopus is a valuable species particularly in Mediterranean countries. It is also of immense importance to the fishing industry in western Asturias, due to its economic value and the social impact on coastal towns in the region.
‘Today’s certification is pioneering. One of the priorities for the MSC in Spain and Portugal is to encourage more local fisheries to join the program, in order to expand our offer of locally-sourced certified sustainable seafood. We congratulate the Navia-Porcía guilds on their commitment to sustainability and wish them much success with the promotion of MSC-certified Asturian octopus,’ said Laura Rodríguez, MSC Spain and Portugal country manager.
