Ms Amaia Barredo recommends the documentary “1:17” dedicated to Basque tuna fishing boats in the Indian Ocean “to find out the real value of a tuna boat”

• Together with Alfonso Beitia, Julio Morón, Leandro Azkue, and Ixone Soroa, the Minister of Food has attended the screening of Javier Linares’ documentary in Zubiarte
• The story of the work, investment and risk involved in working on board the tuna boat “Itsas Txori” built in Astilleros Murueta in 2013, based in Bermeo; fishing in the Seychelles Islands
• Crew of 31 people with two security professionals to protect against pirates

Bilbao, Basque Country, 2025 02 27

Mrs Amaia Barredo, Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries of the Basque Government, has recommended watching the documentary “1:17” dedicated to the work of Basque tuna fishermen in the waters of the Indian Ocean “to find out the real value of a can of tuna, which is common on our tables and in our diet”.

Together with Alfonso Beitia and Julio Morón, president and managing director of OPAGAC, respectively, the deputy minister of Fisheries Leandro Azkue and the director Mrs Ixone Soroa, Amaia Barredo attended the screening of the documentary made by the director Javier Linares and his team from “Volcán Productions” at the Zubiarte-Bilbao shopping centre on the work, investment and risk involved in working on board the “Itsas Txori”, built in the Murueta Shipyards in 2013, based in Bermeo, belonging to the shipowner Inpesca, and which fishes in the Seychelles Islands with a crew of 31 people with two security professionals to protect against pirates.

The skipper Josu Iñaki Ispizua, Axel Etxebarria and Xabier Unzaga, captain and officer of the ship, star in a trip in the Indian Ocean as part of the campaigns of that fleet, which last four months. The “Itsas Txori” is one of the 45 European vessels dedicated to tropical tuna fishing and one of the 1,800 purse seine tuna vessels that exist in the world.

Five million tons worldwide

“The five million tons of tropical tuna caught worldwide - a food with high demand - generate an industry with thousands of jobs at sea and in its processing and distribution and represent a significant proportion of global fishing production, which in 2021 stood at 160 million tons, according to FAO data” Barredo highlighted in the Zubiarte screening room packed with shipowners, skippers, captains, office staff and supply companies of the shipowner companies.

“The commitment to the sustainability of the European tuna fleet is also evident. These are times of many changes in all social areas and in fishing” the documentary makers highlighted.

The “Itsas Txori” competes with irregular vessels from other fleets as shown in ‘1.17’ with the inclusion of images provided by journalist Ian Urbina (The Outlaw Ocean Project), known for denouncing the scourge of illegal, unregulated and undocumented fishing (IUU fishing) and which “has links to international mafias involved in human, arms and drug trafficking”.

The vessels of the tuna fleet, such as the “Itsas Txori”, are equipped with telemedicine as part of their social responsibility which, together with environmental sustainability (MSC certificate) and control of fishing activity, is certified with the AENOR Tuna Responsible Fishing (APR) seal.

‘1.17’ ends with the return to port of the “Itsas Txori” and the unloading and transfer of its catches to the Thai Union factory in Seychelles where the tuna is processed. This species is also known as the sea pig because everything is used from its spines to its back.