How does your can stack up?
If you’re going to buy tuna, make sure to choose a responsibly-caught option.
We’ve ranked 20 well-known canned tuna brands that can be found in grocery stores nationwide based on how sustainable, ethical, and fair their tuna products are for our oceans—and for the workers that help get the products to store shelves.
If you’re going to buy tuna, make sure to choose a responsibly-caught option.
Click on a can to see the results
An eco-brand dedicated to greening store shelves and driving industry change.
Ocean Safe Products
All Wild Planet & Sustainable Seas brand canned tuna.
Wild Planet Foods is a company dedicated to providing sustainable tuna products. Its Wild Planet and Sustainable Seas brands are found in stores nationwide and its market presence is growing with increased demand for responsibly-caught tuna. Since the last Tuna Guide, Wild Planet updated its procurement policy, strengthening it even further to state its commitment to social responsibility. Wild Planet’s top rank is a reflection of its continued efforts to improve its operations and the larger industry.
A trusted sustainable tuna brand and pole and line tuna advocate.
Ocean Safe Products
All American Tuna and Pole & Line brand canned tuna.
American Tuna is a San Diego-based company founded by six pole and line fishing families. American Tuna works to connect pole and line fishers, and supports the development of more sustainable and socially responsible fisheries. While American Tuna customers have trusted the brand as a more responsible choice when it comes to ocean protection, the company’s move to solidify its eco-practices with a public policy is significant. This increased American Tuna’s rank this year to tie for first place in the Tuna Guide.
This guide’s top-ranked U.S. retailer has a commitment to sell only responsibly-caught canned tuna by early 2018.
Whole Foods has worked for years to provide more sustainable seafood for customers in its fresh and frozen departments. In March 2017, Whole Foods made history as the first U.S. retailer to commit to selling 100% sustainable canned tuna and upholding strong labor standards. Soon, any canned tuna on store shelves will be sourced from best practice fishing methods like pole and line, handline, or troll. These catch methods benefit small-scale fisheries and significantly reduce the likelihood of human rights violations. This commitment sets the bar for other retailers to follow and sends a strong message to failing tuna brands that their time of ocean destruction is coming to an end.
Global tuna company Tri Marine provides responsibly-caught tuna.
Ocean Safe Products
All Ocean Naturals brand canned tuna.
Ocean Naturals is owned by Tri Marine—one of the largest tuna traders in the world. When introduced a few years ago, this responsibly-caught brand offered a clear alternative to destructive national brands. The closing of Tri Marine’s American Samoa processing plant leaves questions about the future and direction of Ocean Naturals. Tri Marine must continue to help lead the industry in the right direction and use its clout to ensure that more responsibly-caught tuna replaces destructive tuna lining supermarket shelves.
Some better options on shelves, with improvements ahead.
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned private company operating in the Midwest. Ocean lovers rejoice: this retailer is serious about sustainable seafood. It even has a blog featuring seafood sustainability. Hy-Vee will likely move into the green category as it implements its sustainable tuna commitments and addresses key social responsibility issues that protect workers’ rights. Based on its leadership thus far, expect big changes ahead.
A retailer driven to make a difference and it shows.
Ocean Safe Products
Look for Wegmans brand pole and line canned tuna, coming soon.
Founded by the Wegman family, this retailer takes pride in offering its customers quality products. Its seafood team has worked hard for years to offer more sustainable seafood. This is welcome news for customers committed to protecting the oceans and workers’ rights, and sends a message to big tuna brands that it’s time to lead too. If Wegmans works to ensure that its own brand tuna is responsibly-caught, increases information available to customers, and prioritizes its social standards, this Rochester-based retailer will be well on its way to the green category.
A good pole and line option, though there’s more work to do.
Ocean Safe Products
Nature's Basket brand pole and line albacore.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle has come a long way in recent years on sustainable seafood, and is actively working to improve its canned tuna. While customers can trust its Nature’s Basket pole and line caught albacore tuna, its Giant Eagle brand tuna is still caught using destructive fishing methods. Giant Eagle can improve by ensuring that any of its own brand canned tuna is responsibly-sourced and by publicly stating how it will ensure its tuna adheres to strict social responsibility standards.
Some good options, but Albertsons has much more work to do.
Following Albertsons’ acquisition of Safeway, the recently merged company is the fourth largest grocery retailer in the U.S. As a major seller of canned tuna, it’s encouraging that Albertsons is getting serious about improving its seafood sustainability. To hold a leadership position in the U.S. market, Albertsons must transition away from destructively caught tuna, strengthen its social responsibility commitments specific to tuna, and continue to improve its traceability systems.
One of the latest retailers to offer responsibly-caught canned tuna.
Ocean Safe Products
Northern Catch FAD-free and pole and line skipjack.
Discount retailer ALDI is moving into a leadership role on responsibly-caught tuna, through its tuna commitments and introduction of FAD-free and pole and line caught Northern Catch skipjack tuna. ALDI would perform much better in the Tuna Guide if it increased its supply chain transparency. ALDI’s challenge is to maintain its course and improve its commitments to sustainable seafood and social responsibility. If it does, customers seeking accessible, responsibly-caught tuna may soon start flocking to ALDI instead of its competitors.
There’s promise for this retailer if it jumps on board with responsibly-caught canned tuna.
Ahold Delhaize is a new kid on the U.S. retail block. Ahold and Delhaize, known for stores such as Giant, Hannaford, and Food Lion, merged in 2016 creating the fifth largest U.S. retailer. While this newer company offers pole and line caught tuna under its Nature’s Promise brand, it still sells large amounts of destructively caught tuna. Change could be on the horizon. This would be welcome news for the oceans, seafood workers, and customers seeking responsibly-caught tuna.
Big changes underway for one of the country’s largest retailers.
Ocean Safe Prodcts
Look for responsibly-caught Kroger brand pole and line products, coming soon.
Kroger is the largest traditional U.S. grocery chain and could be a powerful force to help improve ocean health. In a sea change from the last Tuna Guide, Kroger fully participated in the survey process. This demonstrates increased transparency and an openness to improve its canned tuna. Kroger is launching new responsibly-caught products and new product labels with more information about the tuna inside cans. Kroger can continue to build momentum by developing a strong, public procurement policy that ensures all of its own brand tuna is responsibly-caught. This would also signal to big brands like Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee, and StarKist: shape up or get off store shelves.
Simply Balanced is the only safe bet—avoid the rest.
Target’s big box store concept is based on offering low prices and trendy products nationwide. While Target made progress when it launched its Simply Balanced brand, since then it’s failed to significantly improve. Target led U.S. retailers by banning farmed salmon in its stores—where is that same level of leadership on responsible canned tuna? It’s time for Target to swim away from its sea of ocean destruction and commit to offering responsibly-caught tuna.
Kirkland customers beware, you may need to seek better canned tuna elsewhere.
Ocean Safe Products
None.
Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership-based warehouse club, and the third largest retail chain in the U.S. Costco made waves in 2014 with its FAD-free Kirkland Signature skipjack tuna, but since then this popular retailer is tanking on its tuna commitments. Costco needs to get serious about offering Kirkland Signature customers responsibly-caught tuna and ensure that it’s available on Costco’s giant store shelves nationwide. Until then, unless it’s a sustainable national brand like Wild Planet, you just can’t trust the canned tuna at Costco.
This Tuna Guide newcomer is on the cusp of big improvements.
Ocean Safe Products
Wild Harvest pole and line albacore. Avoid the rest.
SUPERVALU is better known by its store banners such as Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher’s, Shop ‘n Save, and Shoppers. This is SUPERVALU’s Tuna Guide debut. While the retailer did not receive a passing score, its efforts to clean up its own brand tuna are not going unnoticed. In addition to offering customers responsibly-caught pole and line albacore, SUPERVALU appears open to improving its canned tuna. This is positive news for the oceans, seafood workers, and customers. If SUPERVALU stays on track, it will most certainly improve its ranking.
Bold claims by its parent company, but no improvements for Chicken of the Sea cans.
Ocean Safe Products
None.
Chicken of the Sea—owned by Thai Union, the world’s largest tuna company—is the third largest U.S. tuna brand. Greenpeace is campaigning for Thai Union to end its reliance on destructive tuna fisheries. While Chicken of the Sea claims it’s dedicated to sustainable products, it doesn’t offer a single one in the U.S. As Thai Union works to strengthen its sourcing requirements, it could lead the U.S. market if Chicken of the Sea became the first big national brand to sell responsibly-caught tuna. Until then, relying on transshipment at sea, sourcing from purse seines employing FADs that kill threatened species like sharks, and being unclear about the health of the tuna stocks it sources from means one thing: the oceans and seafood workers are still put at risk to fill this brand’s cans.
Some good options, but this popular retailer’s lack of progress spells trouble for the oceans.
Ocean Safe Products
Trader Joe’s brand skipjack tuna.
Trader Joe’s operates hundreds of stores nationwide. The retailer’s previously taken action to improve its canned tuna, but years later it appears to have stalled out. Trader Joe’s is not winning at transparency, with no clear policy anywhere that outlines its tuna sourcing requirements. Trader Joe’s must ensure that all products, including its own brand albacore tuna products, are responsibly-caught. Trader Joe’s has shown before that it can take leadership to protect the oceans. The time has come (again) to prove it.
Cute bee, bad tuna. For the love of the oceans, avoid this brand and its greenwashing.
Ocean Safe Products
Wild Selections brand “light tuna”
Bumble Bee Foods, North America’s largest shelf stable seafood company, occupies over a quarter of the U.S. canned tuna market. Unfortunately, it’s not using its market power to demonstrably help the oceans or seafood workers. Bumble Bee needs to stop talking about sustainability and act to put responsibly-caught tuna in its flagship brand’s cans. Its traceability website is great on transparency, but it would be so much better if its tuna traced back to sustainable fisheries. By introducing its Wild Selection brand, Bumble Bee is providing products for customers seeking responsibly-caught tuna. Now it’s time to cut the greenwashing claims with its Bumble Bee brand and provide better options.
Great Value is anything but great for sharks and turtles. Avoid any Walmart brand canned tuna.
Ocean Safe Products
None.
Walmart is the world’s largest retailer and sells about one out of every four cans of tuna in the U.S. Rather than lead, Walmart has chosen to drown in a sea of dirty tuna. Walmart continues to fail, refusing to clean up its destructive Great Value brand canned tuna. Subject of a Greenpeace campaign and faced with human rights abuse scandals linked to its seafood supply chains, Walmart continues to issue empty promises while selling customers destructive and potentially unethical canned tuna. Don’t believe the greenwashing. Any customer that cares about sustainability and human rights should shop elsewhere for tuna, period.
A big fail for the oceans, consumer confidence, and H‑E‑B’s brand.
Ocean Safe Products
None.
So much for Texas pride. San Antonio-based H‑E‑B is failing big time. From vague policies to scant public information and failure to participate in Greenpeace’s evaluation process, it begs the question: what does H‑E‑B have to hide? H‑E‑B used to be transparent about its initiatives, and then something happened. It’s unclear how H‑E‑B is addressing destructive fishing, illegal fishing, and rampant human rights abuses in the seafood industry. If you’re looking for responsibly-caught canned tuna, visit Whole Foods—another Texas-based chain that is actually offering its customers better options.
Failed again! StarKist continues its trend of ocean destruction.
Ocean Safe Products
None.
StarKist—owned by global seafood giant, Dongwon—has the largest market share of any canned tuna brand in the U.S. Scraping the bottom of the Tuna Guide for a second time, StarKist’s failure to take sustainability seriously is devastating the oceans—all while it continues to sell cheap and dirty tuna nationwide. It is not only the lowest-ranked brand, but along with other failing brands, it’s dragging down the industry. StarKist must work to ensure healthy oceans, or the day may come when Charlie the Tuna is no more.
700,000 people spoke out and now the world’s biggest tuna company, owner of Chicken of the Sea, has committed to clean up its act!
We need your support to ensure the company lives up to its promises and to continue all our campaigns to protect the ocean and environment.
700,000 people spoke out and now the world’s biggest tuna company, owner of Chicken of the Sea, has committed to clean up its act!
We need your support to ensure the company lives up to its promises and to continue all our campaigns to protect the ocean and environment.
donate todayTuna labels can be confusing and make it hard to actually know what you’re buying. Here is a list of terms that you may find on a label to help you better understand what is actually in the can!
Commonly found in cans in the U.S. Also known as white meat or white tuna. Some stocks are healthy, some are not. Hard to know without additional information about where it was caught. Pacific stocks are in better shape.
One of the most overfished tuna species. Listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN. Avoid these products.
Marine life unintentionally caught and often killed when fishing, like sharks, turtles, and juvenile tuna. Some fishing methods have a higher rate of bycatch than others such as conventional longlines and purse seines employing fish aggregating devices (FADs).
This is a fishing method where a fishing line, often several miles long, is set out into the ocean with secondary lines containing baited hooks to catch tuna. Because it is so indiscriminate, sea turtles and other marine life often take the bait. By making the hooks more circular, it reduces the likelihood of turtles being caught on the hook. It means the brand is trying to lessen its impact on marine life, but it does not mean it is 100% sustainable.
This means where the tuna was caught.
This means where most of the processing has taken place.
Dolphin safe does not mean ocean safe. It means that one fishing method that targets tuna that swim with dolphins is not used to catch the tuna. What about the rays and turtles?!
Fish and marine life are attracted to these floating objects. When used with purse seine nets they can result in the catch and death of various species.
This tuna was caught by purse seine nets without the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), which attract and result in the catch of lots of animals other than tuna. FAD-free is a better choice.
This is another way of saying FAD-Free. It means that the tuna were caught by purse seine nets not using fish aggregating devices (FADs) or setting on marine mammals. Other marine life are less impacted when fishing free school, so it is a better option.
This phrase actually indicates a certification scheme of sustainable seafood products from fisheries and aquaculture. Not the most rigorous of certifications. Make sure to look at how the tuna was caught and if the species is a better option.
A single fishing line is held in a fisher’s hand to catch tuna one-by-one. Impacts on other species are minimal. Handline is a more sustainable choice.
Also known as pirate fishing, this often means stolen fish and exacerbates the overfishing crisis.
A term used to refer to skipjack, yellowfin, and sometimes bigeye tuna. Most often it will be skipjack, but check the ingredients list to be sure.
Fishing lines sometimes dozens of miles long, baited with thousands of hooks. Very indiscriminate fishing gear and highly destructive.
Similar to national parks on land, they are areas free from fishing and other industrial activities. Safe havens like this are essential to replenish marine ecosystems.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a certification scheme for wild fisheries. MSC certified products are supposed to meet certain sustainability criteria. Certified products carry a blue and white logo with a fish and check mark. In many cases, it means a better option for tuna, but best to also look for what species is inside and how it was caught.
Tuna caught without using longlines, which stretch for miles with thousands of hooks that can cause the drowning of species incidentally caught like seabirds, sharks, and turtles. “No longlines” on the label is a sign of an ocean safe option!
The Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise logo can be found on some products that the organization deems sustainable. Ocean Wise recommendations are determined using the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program assessment methodology. Likely a better option, but best to check the fishing method and species.
A fishing method that catches tuna one-by-one with the use of a pole. Usually several fishers line the perimeter of a boat and catch tuna at the same time using baitfish. Impacts on other species are minimal. A best choice.
This means the tuna was either caught using pole and line or troll. The tuna was not separated to help determine the exact fishing method it came from, so the specific method is not labeled. Both are better options.
Most of the processing of that product has occurred in the named country.
Giant nets that encircle schools of fish and then are drawn tight like a drawstring purse. Very destructive when used with fish aggregating devices (FADs) and how most tuna is caught. Look for FAD-free instead.
If found on a product label, you may need to dig a little deeper to find out what this means before taking their word for it. Truly responsibly-caught tuna considers the current and long-term health of the tuna stocks sourced from, the ocean ecosystems that support them, and the people working in, and impacted by, the tuna industry.
The most abundant species of tuna. Often noted as light tuna on the can.
Unless this is accompanied by information about the species and how it was caught, don’t take their word for it.
A species occasionally found in cans in the U.S. Less is known about tongol stocks than other tuna species, so it’s best to avoid these products.
When fishing vessels offload their products to other boats at sea so vessels can continue fishing for months or years at a time. Transshipment is often associated with human rights abuse, illegal fishing, and smuggling shark fins.
A method of fishing known as trolling where one or more jigged fishing lines are towed through the water behind a slow moving boat. A jig is a rubber lure. It is a selective method with minimal catch of other marine life. A much better option.
This means that a fishing method was employed that prevents the accidental catch of turtles. It’s usually found on products caught using pole or troll methods.
A term used to describe albacore tuna.
This just means that the tuna was caught in the ocean and not farmed (which is very rare for canned tuna species). It sounds nice, but means nothing when it comes to its sustainability.
A species often found in cans in the U.S. Sometimes referred to as light meat. Many stocks have been overfished and have suffered declines. Best to avoid.