Canned food giant Princes has announced it responsibly sourced 100% of its branded tuna in 2021.
The milestone follows a 2018 commitment by Princes to only purchase responsibly-sourced tuna for all its brands from fisheries that were either already Marine Stewardship Council-certified, engaged in a fishery improvement project (FIP) that was working towards MSC certification, or from verified and well-managed fisheries that did not use a fish aggregation device (FAD) or sourced via pole and line.
Now, Princes has reported 100% of its branded tuna in the UK, Netherlands and Poland was sourced via an FIP or MSC-certified source in 2021, despite Covid-related supply chain challenges.
“We’ve applied ourselves fully across all areas of our tuna sourcing to reach our 100% target. This has been achieved despite the significant supply chain pressures that businesses across the industry are continuing to face during this turbulent time, as a result of the pandemic,” said Neil Bohannon, group director for seafood at Princes.
“This has not been a short or simple journey, but it is a testament to what can be achieved through close collaboration with suppliers, hard work and a firm commitment to driving sustainability. Our efforts now turn to continuing to uphold this pledge, to support the continuous improvement and long-term sustainability of tuna fisheries,” he added.
Princes works with suppliers to encourage FIP participation. It also works to improve tuna sustainability with an advocacy role through the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) of which Princes is founding partner, the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA) and the Tuna Protection Alliance (TUPA).
Princes’ two tuna processing sites in Mauritius are MSC Chain of Custody certified, and hold SA8000 certification for social accountability.
It follows an announcement by the supplier last October that it had reduced the amount of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna it sourced by 51% on 2017 levels, a year ahead of its 50% deadline by 2022. The drop represented the equivalent of 70 million cans a year, in the face of mounting concerns of an impending crash in stocks due to overfishing.
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