Austral achieves FISH Standard for crew

Certification body MRAG Americas awarded the certification after policy and procedure review, on-site vessel inspections and face-to-face interviews of crew members.

“Austral Fisheries has a longstanding commitment to our people, whose safety and well-being are our highest priority,” said Lesley Leyland, Austral Fisheries Chief Operating Officer. “We view FISH’s independent certification process as best practice, consistent with prioritizing our people, and validation that our fleet has achieved the highest levels of performance with respect to crew treatment, compensation and onboard conditions.”

Austral CEO David Carter added: “I have no doubt that this third-party endorsement of the good work that we are doing with our crews is contemporary best practice and will serve us well.” 

Austral Fisheries joins Nueva Pescanova’s NovaNam fleet in Namibia, APA Alaska catcher-processor vessels, PPLP Alaska motherships, tuna purse seiners of the Fishing Industry Association Papua New Guinea, Clearwater Seafoods Canadian fleet, and vessels of the Fisheries Iceland and the National Association of Small Boat Owners in successfully attaining FISH certification. 

“We see the seafood marketplace is increasingly committed to providing seafood to their consumers that is not only environmentally sustainable, but also harvested by crew who are treated with respect and fairness,” commented Fridrik Fridriksson, chair of the FISH’s Board of Directors and Chief Human Resources Officer at Brim. “FISH can serve as a credible, third-party tool that organisations like Austral can use to demonstrate commitments to, and care of, their fishers.” 

FISH seeks to better the conditions for fishers and to serve as credible, third-party verification giving confidence to the buyers and consumers of seafood coming from certified fleets.