John West confirmed it was joining the other major UK tuna industry players which have already promised to drop an indiscriminate fishing method which kills endangered sharks, juvenile tuna, turtles and other ocean species.(1) This method combines fish aggregation devices (FADs) to lure in fish and purse seine nets which scoop up everything in the area..
“New Zealand tuna brands must also stop getting their tuna from companies using this shameful and wasteful practice,” says Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner Karli Thomas.
Following a campaign by Greenpeace calling on New Zealand tuna brands to “change their tuna” Foodstuffs announced last month it will change most of its Pams range of canned tuna to FAD-free by the end of the year.(2)
“Disappointingly Sealord, New Zealand’s largest tuna brand, is ignoring evidence of the damage caused by indiscriminate fishing and is showing no signs of cleaning up its act and following what’s happening in the UK or here.
“According to statistics, supported and circulated by Sealord, bycatch of other species is five to 10 times more when purse seiners use FADs. This method also increases and the amount of juvenile and undersized tunas being caught to 15-20 per cent of the catch,” says Thomas.(3)
Most of New Zealand’s canned tuna comes from the Pacific Ocean. All Pacific tuna stocks are in decline, with bigeye and yellowfin the most at risk. Scientists have advised that fishing needs to be cut by up to 50 per cent to allow bigeye tuna to recover.(4) Skipjack, the most common species used in canned products, is also under pressure.(5)
Greenpeace is campaigning globally for fishing industry reform and for a global network of marine reserves covering 40 per cent of the world’s oceans, necessary steps to creating healthy, living oceans for future generations.
For more info:
Karli Thomas, Greenpeace NZ Oceans Campaigner, 021 905 582
Phil Crawford, Greenpeace NZ Media & Communications, 021 2299 594
Notes to Editor
(1)http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2096650/john-west-agrees-challenging-sustainable-tuna-targets
(2) http://www.foodstuffs.co.nz/media-centre/news--media/foodstuffs-hooks-sustainable-tuna-for-world-ocean-day
(3) ISSF report http://iss-foundation.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/05/FAD-document.pdf
(4) Scientific Committee Fifth Regular Session: Summary Report’, Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, August 2009. Available at: http://www.wcpfc.int/doc/wcpfc-nc5-ip-06/summary-report-fifth-regular-session-scientific-committee-sc-chair-rev1
(5)http://oprt.or.jp/eng/2011/03/cites-listing-proposal-for-atlantic-bluefin-tuna-is-it-the-best-choice/