Canada Safeway will no longer source skipjack tuna caught by purse seine using fish aggregating devices (FADs), about six weeks after its U.S. affiliate made the commitment.
Safeway brand skipjack (chunk light and flaked light) canned tuna will be responsibly caught using free-school purse-seine methods, the retailer announced on Tuesday. Canada Safeway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway, operates 224 stores across Western Canada; its parent company, one of North America’s largest retailers, pledged to do the same in early February.
Safeway says it’s the first private label brand in North America to make the commitment to go FAD free. In July 2011, Canada Safeway vowed to no longer procure yellowfin tuna for its private label canned tuna, the same month that it unveiled its sustainable seafood sourcing policy in partnership with SeaChoice.
Canada Safeway ranked fifth in the recently released Greenpeace report ranking canned tuna brands according to their sustainable seafood sourcing policies.
“We are pleased to make this announcement as we include our private label canned tuna category in Canada Safeway’s comprehensive sustainable seafood policy. Sourcing responsibly fished tuna is vital to marine ecosystem health and an important addition to our overall Sustainable Seafood strategy,” said Chuck Mulvenna, president and COO of Canada Safeway.
