It seems that Sealord thinks we all came down in the last shower and are prepared to believe whatever line they spin in defence of unsustainable canned tuna.

A few weeks ago, Sealord started pushing canned yellowfin tuna with a TV ad claiming it was their best tasting tuna. When questioned by TV3 about why they were promoting a species that has all but disappeared from NZ waters, Sealord limply replied that it was “trying to reduce the amount of yellowfin it sells”. TV fishing show host Matt Watson didn’t buy that line, and neither do we at Greenpeace.

The boss at Sealord really needs to have a word with the PR department about why they are advertising canned yellowfin tuna. Conventional wisdom would suggest that you advertise something in order to sell more - not less.

We don’t think they’r... Read more >

On Wednesday we revealed Sealord is the only big Australasian brand which has refused to stop sourcing tuna caught by fleets using a destructive fishing method which kills sharks, juvenile tuna and turtles.

New Zealand’s largest tuna brand says it will continue to source its tuna from boats using fish aggregating devices (FADs), which attract tuna and many other species, along with purse seine nets which let nothing escape. This deadly fishing method kills around 200,000 tonnes of other marine life every year.

Sealord, which trades on its image of sustainability, should have led the way in ending this deadly practice. Now, it’s the lonely cheerleader for a destructive fishing method being rejected by all its local competitors and by tuna brands around the world. That method is responsible f... Read more >

For close to two years we’ve been asking Sealord, New Zealand’s largest brand of canned tuna, to stop selling tuna which is caught using a method that destroys countless marine creatures, including sharks, baby tuna and turtles.

Yesterday Sealord took a small step in the right direction but it’s still quite a few paces behind the growing number of brands, here and overseas, that are phasing out tuna caught using the destructive fishing method which combines fish aggregating devices (FADs) and purse seine nets.

Sealord has just signed a pledge with WWF to try and reduce the bycatch levels in its supply chain. In other words it realises it’s not a good look to be buying tuna from vessels which are also hauling in the cast of Nemo and throwing most of them back into the ocean dead or dying. ... Read more >

Maui's dolphin is found only in new Zealand and it's the smallest and most endangered (and in my opinion, the cutest) dolphin in the world. But they're in dire straits and need your help to survive! The New Zealand Government is currently asking for public feedback on a range of options to protect these dolphins, and there are only four days left to have your say -submissions close 5pm Monday 12 November 2012. Read more >

Unfortunately, the Government's proposal to limit gillnet, set net and trawl fishing (the greatest threat to the survival of Maui's dolphins) is much weaker than experts have recommended. Who would have thought that 100% Pure New Zealand would be defying the International Whaling Commission's advice, casting the only two votes against protection of Maui's (against 576 votes in supp...

Greenpeace has long been concerned about the bycatch caused by the use of Fish Aggregating Devices, or FADs, with purse seine nets. This fishing method is a deadly combination of a floating object, left adrift for weeks or months, and a huge encircling net that takes everything in the vicinity. It’s a devastating fishing method, but it’s being used to catch tuna for companies like Sealord (you might have seen our parody of their new TV advert). 

FADs are deployed in huge numbers across our oceans, and float about in their passive-aggressive way. They lure in not just tuna but sharks, dolphin fish, billfish, rainbow runners, triggerfish, baby tuna, turtles – and many more of Nemo’s buddies. Then comes the ‘encircling net’ part… and let’s just say it doesn’t end well for most of these unde... Read more >