Thai Union has committed to implementing 100 per cent monitoring of its tuna supply chain by 2025, while Tesco pledged to make all its tuna MSC-certified by 2025
Global seafood giant Thai Union yesterday announced a pioneering commitment to reach full transparency across its tuna supply chains by 2025, as activists and corporations seek to address the impact of illegal fishing on ocean ecosystems.
The firm said it is to work with conversation non-profit The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to implement 100 per cent ‘on-the-water’ monitoring of its vast tuna supply chain by 2025.
TNC sustainable fisheries experts will help Thai Union deploy electronic monitoring on all of the partner vessels in its supply chain, which could include onboard video cameras, GPS, sensors, or human observers.
The partnership marks a landmark commitment by one of the world’s biggest multinational fishing firms to identify and eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in its supply chains. IUU malpractice has severe repercussions for ocean life, fuelling overfishing of dwindling tuna stocks and resulting in unsustainable levels of by-catch of at-risk sea life such as sharks and sea turtles. The lack of adequate monitoring also contributes to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues for local fishing communities and national governments alike.
“We are very excited about the potential of this partnership to shift the sustainability needle across the entire canned seafood sector,” said Jennifer Morris, CEO of The Nature Conservancy.
“Consumers and retailers send powerful signals when they choose sustainable products, and TNC hopes this commitment will catalyze rapid growth in electronic monitoring and transparency in fisheries all over the world.”
The move comes at a critical time for the world’s oceans, with the coronavirus crisis ramping up pressure on sealife in a range of ways. Monitoring of fishing vessels has been suspended in several key areas, including by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Meanwhile, the pandemic has sparked a surge in the purchase of canned tuna, with wholesale prices up 41 per cent on last year according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and food companies reporting a doubling of sales.
Nor is Thai Union the only multinational giant seeking to clean up its tuna supply chain. British supermarket chain Tesco this week similarly committed to making its tuna 100 per cent MSC-certified by 2025.
The new approach will see the supermarket giant work in partnership with its own brand suppliers to introduce new due diligence processes within its tuna supply chain. The retail behemoth will also work with WWF to implement the conservation charity’s “Seascape” approach to marine sustainability, which aims to take whole marine ecosystems into account when considering a product’s sustainability. Accordingly, as well as its 2025 tuna sourcing target, Tesco will also work to set out a roadmap to transition to ecosystem-based fisheries management by 2030, the firm said.
“Tuna is such an important species when it comes to the health of our marine environment, but it is still being overfished,” said Ashwin Prasad, chief product officer at Tesco.
“This new approach to tuna sourcing, developed in partnership with WWF, will play a critical role in regenerating tuna stocks, while maintaining whole marine ecosystems for future generations. We’ll be working with our suppliers and others across the industry to implement the roadmap, as well as advocating for this approach to be used across other key species as well.”
Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited