Bon Appetit Management Company in California, U.S., announced that starting January 2015, all of the skipjack tuna purchased by the foodservice management firm will be caught without the use of FADs.Currently, skipjack accounts for 233,000 pounds — 95 percent — of all processed tuna purchased by Bon Appetit.
“Our supplier has committed that every tuna shipment destined for our cafes will be accompanied by a signed statement from the boat captain including date caught, location and a commitment that no fish aggregating device was used,” Bon Appetit said.
“We are thrilled to see Bon Appetit lead the way toward more sustainable seafood purchasing for the foodservice industry,” said Jennifer Diant Kemmerly, Seafood Watch director. “We estimate that based on its current purchases, by sourcing only FAD-free skipjack tuna, Bon Appetit will be helping to avoid the bycatch of more than 13,000 tons of overexploited bigeye tuna and other non-target fishes each year.”
“It means a lot to us to be able to know where our tuna is coming from and how it was caught,” said Maisie Ganzler, Bon Appetit VP of strategy. “We would love to see more transparency in the seafood supply chain. Accountability is critical if we’re going to stop the destruction of our seafood supply and our oceans.”
