Australian canned tuna supplier Greenseas, owned by Kraft Heinz, said it would stop using tuna caught with Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).
“We are pleased to announce our commitment to transition the Greenseas brand to FAD-free tuna immediately. All products manufactured from this point onwards will be produced using FAD-free tuna,” the company announced on its web site.
While all Greenseas products “have been produced with tuna that was caught without harm to dolphins or other marine mammals, Kraft Heinz is committed to a sustainable global supply chain, and will continue its efforts to source ingredients responsibly and ethically,” Greenseas said.
Greenpeace said the decision to go FAD-free was based on public outcry after the organization’s 2017 Canned Tuna Guide found that Greenseas scored the lowest of all the major brands on the Australian market according to the organization's sustainability rankings.
After it released the 2017 Canned Tuna Guide, more than 18,000 people emailed Woolworths, urging them to drop the Greenseas brand from their shelves, according to Greenpeace.
“The supermarket giant then scheduled an emergency meeting with Kraft Heinz, the owner of Greenseas, to request immediate action on these customer concerns,” a Greenpeace statement said. “We applaud Woolworths for responding quickly to the public’s concerns and working with their suppliers, including Greenseas, to ensure they meet the ethical standards their customers expect,” Kelly said.
While Greenseas was the first major tuna supplier to commit to going FAD-free in 2012, the supplier previously “did nothing to honor this commitment,” Greenpeace said.
“This commitment means that, seven years after Greenpeace and its supporters launched a campaign to clean up the Australian canned tuna market, every major brand has reformed and our tuna companies are now among the most responsible in the world,” said Greenpeace campaigner Andrew Kelly.
