Sainsbury’s to sell only line-caught tuna

Sainsbury’s on Friday announced that it will sell only pole-and-line caught tuna at its nearly 550 supermarkets across the United Kingdom.

The retail giant is already offering only line-caught tuna for all of its fresh and frozen tuna and private-label canned tuna. Now by the end of January it’s switching all of its products containing tuna — including ready meals, sandwiches, dips, pâtés, salads, potato fillers and sushi — to line-caught fish.

According to Sainsbury’s, the move, representing an additional 1,500 metric tons of tuna annually, ensures that 100 percent of its fish across all tuna products is responsibly sourced. Tuna is the retailer’s third best-selling fish.

“This means our 20 million customers have peace of mind that what they’re buying is as sustainable as it can be,” said Ally Dingwall, aquaculture and fisheries manager for Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest seafood retailer, selling more than GBP 400 million of fish annually.

In addition to line-caught tuna, Sainsbury’s sells only line-caught cod and haddock, which it says reduces bycatch, and nearly 80 percent of the retailer’s seafood products bear the Marine Stewardship Council eco-label. The retailer also claims to carry the widest selection of regionally sourced fish, including dab, coley, British pollock and MSC-certified Cornish sardines.

Sainsbury’s pledge to move to 100 percent line-caught tuna comes a year-and-a-half after Marks & Spencer vowed to source only line-caught tuna for all of its tuna products.

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