Blue Marine Foundation, November 09, 2023
Blue Marine Foundation has published the results of a six-month investigation with BLOOM Association and Greenpeace UK. The report, titled “The UK’s Tuna Blind Spot”, has found huge disparities in sourcing policies for canned tuna in most UK retailers. The use of drifting FADs is of particular concern, with only one retailer, Marks & Spencer, found to not source canned tuna from fisheries using drifting FADs. Although several UK-based retailers do reference the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in their own-label sourcing policy this certainly does not mean that no drifting FADs are used.
Jess Rattle, Head of Investigations at Blue Marine Foundation and the author of the report, said: “Drifting FADs are a scourge that do untold damage to fragile marine habitats and important tuna stocks. UK retailers are well aware of this – many of them acknowledge how harmful drifting FADs are in their own-label sourcing policies, but then turn a blind eye to the tins of brand-name, FAD-caught tuna on their shelves. UK consumers deserve better, and we call on retailers to stop selling tuna caught using drifting FADs by not entering into any new supply agreements for tuna caught in this way. This is especially urgent in the Indian Ocean where governments representing commercial fleets choose to object to drifting FAD management measures put in place to protect overfished stocks”.
