Only two major tuna brands sold in Canada received passing grades in the first sustainability ranking of the industry by Greenpeace.
Both companies have room for improvement, as the #1 brand Wild Planet Foods scored only 65.1%, and Raincoast Trading scored 50%.
Greenpeace is urging that Canadian retailers remove yellowfin tuna as a first step to sustainability and further source tuna from fisheries that do not use destructive fishing methods such as Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs).
Greenpeace’s ranking report, Lifting the lid on the major canned tuna brands in Canada: Ranking the sustainability and equitability of tuna sourcing, reveals that most brands of Canadian canned tuna use fish coming from unsustainable and socially irresponsible fisheries. Tuna fisheries are plagued by overfishing and use fishing techniques, including man-made Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) that capture large amounts of other marine life with tuna, including at-risk species such as turtles, sharks and sea birds.
“The destructive fishing methods used to catch most tuna in Canadian stores means that consumers could be getting more than just tuna,” said Sari Tolvanen, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner. “If consumers knew of the wasted marine life and imperiled tuna caught to produce their can of tuna, they might think twice at the supermarket. Canned tuna is a Canadian staple, found in every supermarket chain, but it could eventually run out if retailers do not start sourcing from responsible fisheries.”
Wild Planet Foods and Raincoast Trading lead the Greenpeace ranking due to their commitments to sustainability which are reflected in their actions on the water and their labeling practices.
Both companies use more selective fishing gear, support coastal-state-owned
operations, and provide clearer labeling for consumers. To improve their scores, Wild Planet and Raincoast Trading should both provide proof that their tuna comes from healthy stocks.
Most of the other 12 tuna
brands ranked by have yet to turn commitments to
sustainability into actual policy, Greenpeace said.
Well-known national brand Clover Leaf, Canada’s largest canned seafood company (and the Canadian arm of US tuna giant Bumble Bee), came in 11th. It was one of only two companies that did not respond to the Greenpeace tuna survey. Bumble Bee/Clover Leaf is one of the founders of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), an industry trade group whose stated mission is to ensure the scientifically sound management of tuna stocks. However, ISSF brands and their products regularly fail to lead on tuna sustainability, Greenpeac said.
Greenpeace’s recent UK tinned tuna ranking placed two ISSF brands, Princes and John West, at the very bottom for their unsustainable sourcing policies. Bolton, an Italian owned ISSF brand was also ranked in Canada and finished 12th just below Clover Leaf.
“Clover Leaf ranked 11th because its tuna does not come from sustainable fisheries and does not provide information on the sustainability of its tuna on its cans, only on its web site,” added Tolvanen. “As a major canned tuna provider, Clover Leaf and other ISSF brands worldwide need to do more than just pay lip service to sustainability. By showing its consumers what exactly is in their cans and being forthcoming with Greenpeace will keep many people from questioning why the word ‘sustainability’ is in ISSF’s name.”
Last place (14th) went to Unico, the other company that did not respond. "Unico shows no sign of considering the sustainability or equitability of its tuna," Greenpeace said in a release.
Greenpeace is calling on supermarket chains and tuna brands to only source from healthy tuna stocks, by avoiding fisheries operating illegally or using indiscriminate fishing methods, by supporting equitable fishing agreements and including traceability and sourcing information on product labels. Greenpeace is campaigning for fishing industry reform and for a global network of marine reserves covering 40% to restore oceans to health and to maintain living oceans and ample fish for future generations.
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