A new Greenpeace ranking report has ranked Princes as the least sustainable tuna brand in the UK market.
The organisation says that Princes uses fish aggregation devices (FADs) along with purse seines to catch the majority of its tinned tuna, resulting in vast amounts of by-catch including sharks, turtles and juvenile tunas.
“Endangered sharks and other species are killed every year while catching tuna to be put in tins. And, despite the hugely misleading claims on their cans, Princes are the worst of the lot. It's time for Princes to follow other industry leaders and stop selling tuna caught using methods which cause the deaths of sharks and many other marine animals,” said David Ritter, Greenpeace UK Oceans Campaign manager.
By contrast those that top the Greenpeace UK league table – Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer - use tuna caught with pole and line, a traditional method of fishing that minimises the catch of other species, and are among those that have pledged to support a proposal made by eight Pacific Island countries to set aside large areas of international waters around their borders as a fully protected marine reserve.
“There is a clear solution for Princes and the fishing industry as a whole: stop using wasteful fishing methods. Consumers need to buy responsibly-caught tuna, producers and retailers must ensure their tuna products are sourced sustainably and equitably and all should support the movement for a global network of marine reserves. These actions will help secure healthy oceans with ample fish for future generations,” said Sari Tolvanen, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner.
