23 August 2021
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2 min read
Sales of canned tuna have surged during the pandemic, driving wholesale prices up more than 40 per cent
Seafood giant unveils fresh sustainable tuna sourcing targets for 2025 after surpassing its previous set of goals last year
Seafood giant Thai Union has set its sights on a suite of fresh sustainable tuna commitments for 2025, having far surpassed its sourcing and traceability goals last year.
Some 87 per cent of the firm's tuna - which covers brands such as John West in the UK, Chicken of the Sea in the US, and King Oscar in Norway, among others - was sourced from Marine Stewardship Council-certified (MSC) fisheries and fishery improvement projects in 2020, it said on Friday.
That far surpasses its 2020 goal for 75 per cent MSC-certified tuna, and puts it on firm course towards achieving 100 per cent in the coming years, the company said.
The company has also sought to install electronic monitoring systems on longline fishing vessels in its supply chain in order to boost transparency, in addition to joining the Ocean Disclosure Project to provide full transparency of its global seafood sourcing.
And, having achieved its 2020 goals, Thai Union also on Friday unveiled a fresh set of tuna sustainability targets for 2025, as part of which it is teaming up with US environmental NGO the Nature Conservancy.
By 2025, the firm has committed to working towards 100 per cent 'on-the-water' monitoring of its tuna supply chains, and that all the tuna fisheries Thai Union sources from are working their way towards MSC certification, if they haven't already achieved it.
Over the same time frame, moreover, it is aiming to ensure all of its tuna suppliers report data, meet quota allocations and conservation measures according to Regional Fishery Management Organisation resolutions, the firm said.
Thai Union explained that it would continue to develop measurable milestones this year, and that it would publish annual results against these milestones up to 2025.
Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union, hailed the firm's progress towards its sustainable tuna goals, but cautioned that "we know we have a lot more work to do", and that new targets were therefore needed for 2025.
"Traceability remains critical to achieving these goals, and we will continue to work with our customers and stakeholders to ensure these are met, reflecting our commitment to prevent modern slavery and IUU [illegal, unregulated and unreported] fishing in our supply chains," he said.
