Thai Union Group (TU) has cut ties with nearly 1,200 fishing boats in Thailand over the course of two years as part of the tuna canner’s responsible sourcing and conduct code policy.
The major supplier recently unveiled its rebranding effort on 18 September, emphasizing its intent on becoming the most trusted seafood leader in the world.
“Our mission is not to be the largest or the No 1 company, but to be the most trusted seafood leader because we see our stakeholders need a trusted company,” Thiraphong Chansiri, president and chief executive officer, was reported as saying by The Nation.
Development of the company’s ethics and conduct codes has been occurring rigorously over the years, resulting in today’s no-tolerance policy not only being applied to operations, by along the entire supply chain as well, according to The Nation.
In Thailand specifically, TU has narrowed the group of boats from which it sources fish down to 800 – previously, the company had sourced fish from more than 2,000 boats. Moreover, the boats that TU sources fish for fish meal from has been whittled down to 57 from 200.
“Since 2014, we have terminated business relationships with more than 15 suppliers for this reason,” Chansiri said.
Thai Union has barred purchases made from mothership and transshipper vessels; the company launched a global policy arguing for the ban of transshipment in April. As a member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation and thus ascribing to the Resolution 14-03 “which calls upon the industry to refrain from transactions with purse-seine-caught tuna that are transshipped at sea,” it’s a natural move for TU to bar the practice said Chansiri.
According to Darian McBain, director of sustainable development, TU is looking for 100 percent “from catch-to-consumption” traceability across all its seafood products by 2020.
“Thai Union acknowledges the ever-increasing pressure from stakeholders on environment and labor issues in our supply chain. We have played a proactive role in working with government, community and research organizations, as well as customers and industry peers to jointly develop and implement important initiatives to improve the sustainability of our seafood supply chain,” concluded McBain to The Nation.
It is the hope of Thai Union representatives that the EU, which has been vetting Thailand fishing activities since 13 October, will notice improvements as a result of these ongoing changes in the company’s decorum.
