Greenseas restated its commitment to be supplied with tuna from sustainable fisheries ~ LAWOK LEPAS

Greenseas restated its commitment to be supplied with tuna from sustainable fisheries

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Tuna company Greenseas has announced that it is deepening its commitment to tuna conservation by sourcing 100 per cent of its tuna from fish aggregating device- (FAD) free sources by the end of 2015.

“Greenseas was the first canned tuna brand to switch to dolphin-friendly fishing methods two decades ago, so it is appropriate that Greenseas is once again taking the lead on environmental sustainability,” said Heinz Australia Corporate Affairs Manager Jessica Ramsden.

In addition, Greenseas informed this week, it will go on providing financial backing for scientific research by the Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) and supports having marine reserves to safeguard marine biodiversity in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

“Dropping FADs and supporting marine reserves in the Pacific high seas pockets are among the strongest conservation moves a company like Greenseas could make. That commitment, along with their ongoing support for OFP’s research programme, demonstrates genuine leadership,” stated Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle.

By March 2012, Greenseas – one of Australia’s largest tuna brands -- will make more improvements to its labels to educate its consumers better about where the company’s tuna originates from and how it was caught.

Greenseas uses only skipjack – the most plentiful tuna species -- for its canned tuna, but fishing it with FADs yields increased levels of non-target bycatch that especially impacts overfished stocks of yellowfin and bigeye tuna as well as other marine life.

To reach its 100 per cent FAD-free goal, Greenseas will collaborate closely with suppliers and other stakeholders to buttress the development of FAD-free initiatives in the WCPO, so it can stop using FADs with its purse seine net fishing operations.

"It's a big decision, it's a bold one for us and it's an important one for the business, but we feel it's the most important thing we can do to ensure sustainable canned tuna in Australia in the years to come," Ramsden commented, Brisbane Times reports.

Greenseas is the first Australian tuna brand to make this commitment, she noted.

"Australian brands can make those changes and Greenseas is demonstrating that. We would like the rest of the industry in Australia to follow suit as the whole UK market has done," Pelle said.

"If anything, they have a stronger reason to act because these unsustainable practices are happening right on our own doorstep."

OFP carries out stock assessments, tuna tagging schemes and other relevant work to keep the WCPO fishery well-managed, such that providing financial support to this operation is in the best interest of efforts made toward the long-term sustainability of the WCPO tuna fishery, Greenseas said in a statement.... READ MORE