Ecuador maintains exports of yellowfin tuna to the US.

The United States supports that Ecuador continue with its exports of yellowfin tuna products to that market.

Ecuador applies a platform to avoid illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, to get out of the yellow card imposed by the European Union. In this program are tuna fishermen and artisanal fishermen.

The nod is due to Ecuador’s work to promote and maintain sustainable fishing and fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

In this sense, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS ), of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , announced that Ecuador complied with the requirements for the issuance of an annual renewal of affirmative finding. .

That renewal comes from the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, related to the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). For this, the documentation presented by the Ecuadorian Government was reviewed together with the information obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (CIAT).

Continued exports to the United States

This affirmative conclusion or endorsement will allow Ecuador to continue exporting yellowfin tuna and products of this species to the United States. These are caught by purse seine vessels operating under Ecuadorian jurisdiction in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. “Thank you for your continued commitment to the conservation of marine mammals and tuna resources in the ETP”, highlights the NMFS in a document sent to the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries.

The Vice Minister of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Andrés Arens , stated that this type of recognition is important, because it confirms that Ecuador contributes to the development of sustainable fishing.

According to Arens, the Government’s vision is to maintain very high quality and traceability standards. This has made Ecuador a regional benchmark and, in addition, it is consolidated in international markets.

This annual renewal of affirmative determination became effective on April 1, 2023 and will run until March 31, 2024.

The Ministry of Production reported that Ecuador is taking another step towards consolidating exports of aquaculture and fishery products to the US market.