New Zealand retailer Foodstuffs on Tuesday said it’s launching a pole-and-line caught canned tuna range under the Pams brand, giving its customers “a sustainable choice” when buying tuna.
he announcement comes about six weeks after Greenpeace targeted the four private-label brands sold at Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises, New Zealand’s two largest supermarket chains, and canned-tuna brands, including John West, Sealord and Greenseas. The environmental activist organization is challenging consumers to urge the canned-tuna brands to no longer source tuna caught in a purse seine using fish aggregating devices (FADs).
Dave McAteer, general manager of Foodstuffs Own Brands Ltd., said 85 percent of the fish used in its canned tuna range will be FAD-free by year’s end. Only two Pams canned tuna products will not be classified as FAD-free, because currently suppliers are unable to verify 100 percent that the fish wasn’t harvested using FADs, he added.
“For some time now, we have been working towards securing a long term supply of canned tuna that can be sourced sustainably,” said McAteer. “It is part of our philosophy to listen to our customers, therefore we have been investigating the ability to provide both FAD-free and pole and line caught canned tuna for our Pams range. We are thrilled to announce that we can now offer these products to our Pams customers.
“At Pams we believe in offering sustainable product options to our customers, and we hope Kiwis will continue to buy our tuna products and help us support sustainable fishing methods,” he said.
The company’s supermarket banners include New World, PAK'nSAVE and Four Square.
“This is fantastic news to celebrate on World Oceans Day [8 June], as the fishing method most commonly used to fill tuna cans has been wreaking havoc on Pacific tuna stocks and other ocean life. The method is the combination of FADs… and purse seines,” said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Karli Thomas on the Greenpeace-New Zealand website on Wednesday.
