Tuna industry must urgently reform, says Greenpeace | WPN World People News

Greenpeace today called on Thai Union and the fishing industry, at the 14th Infofish World Tuna Trade and Conference, to step up and rein in destructive and illegal fishing practises. Thai Union, the world’s largest producer of canned tuna, is embroiled in human rights and environmental abuse scandals, and was again the target of global protests over the weekend.

“People around the world have been mounting pressure on Thai Union to step up and walk the talk. We need to see real change in Thai Union’s practices and not just vague pledges on the company’s website,” said Graham Forbes, Global Seafood Markets Project Leader for Greenpeace USA.

“Barely 48 hours ago, people in the US, Canada, Italy, France and the UK took action by cleaning out supermarket shelves of Thai Union’s tainted tuna to prevent them from reaching unsuspecting consumers. Now, we’re here in Bangkok, exposing its failure to the entire global tuna industry.”

The event is being hosted in Thailand, which has been in hot water with the European Union since being issued a yellow card warning for failing to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Over the weekend, several direct actions happened around the world targeting Thai Union’s continued inaction and failure to deliver on its sustainability programme for its global supply chains, dubbed the Sea Change Programme.

Greenpeace is demanding Thai Union provide clear timelines and milestones, detailing the steps it will take to change its supply chain and stop overfishing, destructive fishing practices like shark finning, and illegal fishing operations, which are often intertwined with labour and human rights abuses.

“Thai Union must eliminate destructive fishing practices, and protect human rights and labour standards - right down to the level of the fishing vessels themselves. We will not stop until it can verify its supply chain is clean and traceable from net to plate,” said Anchalee Pipattanawattanakul, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The bulk of Thai Union’s tuna is still caught by conventional longlines (not employing bycatch mitigation devices) and purse seiners using Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). Greenpeace, and other organisations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, SeaChoice, Marine Conservation Society and The Safina Center, do not consider these sustainable fishing practises.

Greenpeace’s ship, Esperanza, is currently in the Indian Ocean removing destructive fishing gear, including FADs belonging to Thai Union’s suppliers. A petition demanding Thai Union and its customers take action has gathered over 370,000 signatures.

“With so many issues plaguing the Thai seafood industry, it’s time for meaningful reform. The world is watching to see if Thai Union will finally use its market leadership to transform the global tuna industry and ensure that the world’s oceans are healthy and thriving, with workers fairly treated and duly compensated. That is the real change we want to see,” said Pipattanawattanakul.

source: Greenpeace International