Princes Group has achieved its 2025 commitment to source 100% of its branded tuna from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fisheries, representing around 70 million cans of tuna each year. The international food and drink supplier said the reached milestone marks a significant step in its long-standing commitment to responsible sourcing and ocean stewardship.
The achievement also follows several years of investment in traceability, closer collaboration with fishing partners and large-scale supply-chain transformation.
Since setting the ambition in 2022, Princes has been a significant contributor to a 15-fold uplift in MSC-certified ambient tuna on UK shelves from 2,461 tonnes in 2020/21 to 37,027 tonnes in 2024/25
“This commitment is the culmination of a 10-year journey of fishery improvements. It was deliberately ambitious, and achieving it reflects the scale of change required across complex global supply chains,” said David McDiarmid, Corporate Relations Director at Princes Group. “Reaching 100% MSC-certified tuna demonstrates the progress we have made alongside our partners and reinforces our belief in the MSC Standard and its global recognition is critical in driving progress in sustainable fishing.”
George Clark, Programme Director, UK & Ireland at the Marine Stewardship Council, said that achieving 100% MSC-certified sustainable tuna on its products is a clear demonstration of Princes’ “leadership and commitment”. He added that this “ambitious and proactive industry action” would play a vital role in driving real, positive impact in store and in the ocean.
Beyond tuna, Princes applies the same responsible sourcing principles across its wider seafood range, prioritising certified sustainable fisheries, robust traceability and continuous improvement with suppliers. This includes certified sourcing of key species such as salmon, kippers and mackerel.
In October last year, Princes halted sourcing mackerel for the Princes brand from the Northeast Atlantic in favour of MSC-certified Chilean fisheries citing poor stock health figures and a lack of direct action from coastal states.
