Green tuna goes FAD-free
Environmental group Greenpeace is claiming something of a victory with the news that the UK's biggest supplier of canned tuna, Princes, is going to source its fish from more sustainable supplies than previously.
Greenpeace has been spearheading a campaign to get companies to adopt sustainable tuna policies
A certain proportion of its tuna will come from pole-and-line fishing, while the remainder, from 2014, will come from fleets that pledge not to use fish aggregating devices (FADs).
It's reportedly been joined by Asda, one of the country's principal supermarket chains, although at the time of writing the company hasn't got back to me to confirm.
Greenpeace has been leading a campaign aiming to "name and shame" suppliers who don't put particularly sustainable standards on their tuna, and to stimulate consumer pressure to demand that shops up their game on the issue.
Part of the camapign has been a "league table" of retailers - and at the most recent iteration, Princes came in eighth and last place, condemned for a number of apparent failings, including:
- sourcing most of its fish from FAD-deploying fleets
- not telling customers what species of tuna are in its cans or where they were caught
- not giving public support to the notion of marine reserves in tuna-fishing areas.
So the new announcement clearly marks a change. A company spokesman described it to me as "the next phase in Princes' tuna sustainability plan" - although to the environmental group's eye, it's a sharper change of direction than that.
The announcement means that from now on, more than half of the canned tuna bought in the UK (which is the world's second-biggest market) will be supplied by companies signed up to a sustainable sourcing policy.
Given the huge amount of publicity given to bluefin tuna over the last few years, it's important to point out that what we're talking about here isn't bluefin, whose delicate flesh is far too valuable to be imprisoned in tins.
And indeed, the primary ecological reasons for concern are rather different.
The biggest issue with the bluefin is simply that the species have been fished to the point of exaustion.
The skipjack is one of the smallest tuna species fished commercially
The main ingredient of canned tuna is the skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), a small, fast-swimming, fecund, gregarious species that is generally thought not to be significantly depleted, despite the huge fishing effort deployed against it.
The problem is that skipjack are often found in close proximity to other tunas such as yellowfin and bigeye, which are in some trouble - the bigeye (Thunnus obesus) being listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Particularly when FADs are used, young bigeye and yellowfin are caught in the same nets that snare skipjack.
FADs also lure sharks, many species of which are on the Red List - and these too are killed in the purse seine nets, whose modus operandi is to close like a purse around an entire shoal of fish.
What to do? Well, it's a complex routine.
The "gold standard" is to go fishing with a pole and line - one of the more traditional fishing methods, and perhaps the most selective of all.
It also has the benefit of providing employment in developing countries - in the Pacific islands, for example, where much of Europe's tuna is caught - rather than allowing internationally owned and operated purse seine boats to reap the reward.
But there are also constraints that make it doubtful whether pole and line fishing can supply all the tuna that Europe needs, let alone other parts of the world.
We're largely talking about small boats travelling not too far from shore - which limits the area for fishing.
We're also talking about a fishing method that needs live bait to attract the carnivorous skipjack.
A study published just this month suggests that if the Pacific Islands were to provide all the tuna they currently do, but only through pole and line fishing, catching all the bait fish required would seriously deplete stocks of those species (such as sprat and anchovy).
Tuna fishing can bring jobs and money where both are scarce - if managed well
So although some suppliers are demanding fish caught by pole and line exclusively, it's not certain that this is a feasible answer across the board.
Hence the decision of Princes to settle in part for fisheries that don't use FADs.
These devices depend on a quirk of fish behaviour.
Stick something big in the middle of open sea - a buoy, a big log, whatever - and many species will congregate around it.
Why this should be so isn't entirely clear.
One theory is that small species see it as a shelter from predation - meaning that bigger carnivorous ones have come to see floating objects as floating restaurants.
Whatever the reason, you can now buy sophisticated buoys equipped with sonar and GPS.
They can be despatched into the oceans, able to send skippers a continuous stream of data indicating where they are and roughly what volume of fish are gathered around - ideal for snatching up in a purse seine net when the time is right.
FADs make highly efficient tools for fishermen - but they are highly inefficient at discriminating between different species.
The thought is that in the absence of FADs, species will separate, enabling skippers to scoop out skipjack without touching the bigeye.
Later this year we should see the start of trials testing prototype FADs designed to attract single species - more of that in a few months, I hope.
In the meantime, what's the global significance of these moves within the UK? After all, its canned tuna market may be an important one, but it's still only a single country.
Well, it's partly that the "dolphin-friendly tuna" campaign of the 1980s was one of the most effective environmental campaigns in living memory, bringing changes to the industry globally from its roots in the US - whatever caveats are raised about its ecological sophistication.
In a sense, the current tuna campaign is a logical extension; and making it global would be a logical next step.
It's partly, also, that companies in the industry are generally international. Asda is owned by Walmart, for example, Princes by Mitsubishi; practices seen as good in one branch of a multinational are liable to bleed through to the next.
Thirdly, in order to supply the more selective shopper, suppliers will have to increase the scrutiny they put on their own work.
Fishermen will have to label catches more carefully, and processors will have to maintain traceable supply chains.
This builds the tools and structures that will be needed if and when other groups of companies want to adopt more stringent standards - or when other groups of consumers persuade them to.
Is sustainable tuna in the can? Not yet... but it's filling up.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~10~RS~)
I'm Richard Black, environment correspondent for the BBC News website. This is my take on what's happening to our shared environment as the human population grows and our use of nature's resources increases.
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Make Fads illegal. It is quite obvious that 'voluntary' restrictions will only work as long as sufficient profit is made with the longer fishing time required. Time is money.
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"The main ingredient of canned tuna is the skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), a small, fast-swimming, fecund, gregarious species that is generally thought not to be significantly depleted, despite the huge fishing effort deployed against it."
Well, there's some good news, relatively speaking.
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Could not the pole fishers work out, in this day and age,
a way in which bait could be used like 'tracer bullets'?
Isn't it a kind of 'frenzy' that is occurring when these
fish start grabbing the hooks? A little real bait and a
lot of fake bait?
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Mr. Black
That is a great blog that you produce.
Very interesting topics and well written.
I wonder what you'd have to say about the looming disaster that would occur if the president of Tanzania. Mr. Kikwete, goes through with his plans to build a road through the Serengeti preserve. Such a road would greatly disrupt, and irrevocably alter, the great migration that all children and adults, around the world, marvel at.
It is facing a dire threat.
Many are working to spread the news and convince president Kikwete that there is a much better alternative route for a road. One that would service the far flung communities but also protect the integrity of that magnificent migration. The World Bank and the government of Germany are offering to fund the alternative route.
I hope you will write about it.
David
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'But there are also constraints that make it doubtful whether pole and line fishing can supply all the tuna that Europe needs, let alone other parts of the world.'
I think the word should be 'wants' and people should be reminded that buying fish from the other side of the planet is unnecessary and definitely not environmentally friendly, no matter how 'selective' or 'dolphin friendly' it is.
I would also advise against buying anything from a company owned by Mitsubishi, the alleged stock pilers of frozen bluefin. They will say anything to appear sustainable.
I say vote for 'no take zones', simplify fishing methods and STOP eating so much fish. Leave it for the people who need it.
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It is interesting to note that the impetus for FAD fishing originated from environmental activist pressure on school fishing because of the dolphin issue. It seems now that the solution to FAD fishing is to return to school fishing. Not sure much has been accomplished here.
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Another point regarding tuna caught by pole & line method is that the quality is generally inferior. Tuna caught by purse seine are immersed in refrigerated brine immediately upon catching. Pole & line fish are collected at land-based cold stores until there is sufficient quantity to make up a commercial lot. A lot is made of fish caught by many different small fishermen, some of whom are more diligent than others about keeping the fish on ice (if any is available). The time on board (i.e., prior to refrigeration) ranges from a few hours to several days. As a result, incidences of scombroid (histamine) poisoning are more frequent from pole & line fish. Watch for this as UK retailers move in this direction.
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@Dr Click - "It seems now that the solution to FAD fishing is to return to school fishing." No, the previous method of fishing which targeted dolphins was not pole and line fishing, as has been been proposed as a solution here, but trawling with giant nets that again didn't discriminate amongst species. I don't think someone fishing with a pole and line would confuse a dolphin for a skipjack tuna somehow.
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Oceanroots (5)
An interesting point. The question must be why is tuna so popular (in Europe)? We eat plenty of other fish but maybe we don't have something like the tuna? It dark meat is quite different to most fish.
The northern bluefin tuna is endangered so that is probably why we get most of ours from the Pacific.
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5. At 11:30pm on 09 Mar 2011, Oceanroots wrote:
I think the word should be 'wants' and people should be reminded that buying fish from the other side of the planet is unnecessary and definitely not environmentally friendly, no matter how 'selective' or 'dolphin friendly' it is.
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No, needs. The health crowd keep banging on about how important it is for us to eat fish (and they're right, fish is wonderful for your health) and the greenies keep banging on about how few fish there are left in Europe (if you believe their alarmism, there are about three lonely cod left in the north Atlantic).
Where are they supposed to come from? My bathtub just isn't big enough...
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Missy M – Mr Black’s article correctly states, “Princes, is going to source its fish from more sustainable supplies than previously. A certain proportion of its tuna will come from pole-and-line fishing, while the remainder, from 2014, will come from fleets that pledge not to use fish aggregating devices (FADs).” The portion of pole-and-line fish will be quite small, simply because supply sources are limited. The balance will come from “fleets that pledge not to use fish aggregating devices (FADs)”, in other words, purse seine fleets that use the school fishing method. You may not like it, but this is the reality of the situation.
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As someone who at times has been deeply passionate about protecting the world's species, I am lost on these FADS.
What is the state of fishing in the world, anyway? So they stopped purse-seining to save the dolphins, and went onto FADS, and then now what?
Is it really a Greenpeace victory just because one canning factory "promises" to avoid this type of fishing? What are they going to use instead?
Isn't the whole global fishing industry a disaster?
How can Greenpeace expect the enthusiastic support of ordinary people (boys girls men and women), if these people are supposed to take a stand on a "campaign" before they understand the complexities of the fishing industry?
Frankly, this is one case where I take my hat off to the vegetarians (which I am not) - at least they just TELL people to GET OFF Fish. Whereas Greenpeace is telling us that some types of tuna will be okay to buy?
Who the hell is running Greenpeace nowadays....
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re: 12 verano
Frankly, this is one case where I take my hat off to the vegetarians (which I am not) - at least they just TELL people to GET OFF Fish. Whereas Greenpeace is telling us that some types of tuna will be okay to buy?
I'm kind of with you on that. Whose idea was it to take a top predator like a tuna, chop it up, and put it in a can?
Oi. What a waste of good fish. If you want something to mix with mayonnaise in a sandwich, use chicken for all love.
Save my sashimi -- don't eat canned tuna!
But really -- how badly do Europe and North America need tuna caught in the South Pacific? People in the region where the tuna come from certainly need cheap protein sources more than we do.
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12. At 6:11pm on 11 Mar 2011, verano wrote:
Who the hell is running Greenpeace nowadays....
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The same idiots who have always ran it. Ill-informed tree huggers and people with far to much time on their hands. The names change, but the starry-eyed idiocy remains the same.
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