Morrisons will no longer source tuna caught in a purse seine using fish aggregating devices (FADs), according to Greenpeace, which made the announcement on Monday as it again publicized its report “Tinned Tuna’s Secret Catch.”
With Morrisons’ pledge, now more than 70 percent of the United Kingdom’s major canned tuna brands have committed to sustainable tuna fishing, claimed Greenpeace.
In January, the environmental activist organization updated its report ranking the UK’s canned-tuna brands according to whether the fish is harvested in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner. Sainsbury’s came out on top, followed by Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Co-operative, Tesco and ASDA. Morrisons came in at No. 7, beating out only John West and Princes.
Since the report, Princes has pledged that by the end of 2014 all of its canned tuna will be caught by either pole-and-line or purse-seine nets without the use of FADs. ASDA has made a similar commitment, as its canned tuna will also be FAD-free by 2014.
That leaves John West, which Greenpeace again called out in its announcement praising Morrisons’ move. John West is “the single biggest brand name in the UK, yet are still holding out and onto wasteful purse-seining with FADs as the methods used to catch their tuna. They now stand alone,” said Greenpeace. “And so every shopper in the UK has a better, less destructive, alternative if they want to buy tuna. So it makes sense that John West really need to change their ways very soon.”
