Greenpeace Challenges Chicken of the Sea to Reform Destructive Fishing Practices

Greenpeace has today delivered a letter to tuna giant Chicken of the Sea demanding they reform their destructive fishing practices.

The letter was delivered to staff at Chicken of the Sea's La Jolla HQ earlier today, and makes four demands on the company - a subsidiary of Thai Union Group, one of the largest tuna producers in the world.

Greenpeace is calling on Chicken of the Sea to stop using Fish Aggregating Devices in combination with purse seine nets, to cease their reliance on conventional longlines, to end their sale of yellowfin tuna, and to stop fishing in the Central and West Pacific high seas pockets.

"On average, every time a FAD is used, for every 10 kilograms of catch, one kilogram will be unwanted consisting of juvenile tuna, sharks, rays and a wide variety of other species," said Campaigner Casson Trenor.1

"Longlining kills thousands of turtles, sea birds sharks, rays and billfish. Six of the seven sea turtle populations worldwide feature on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Redlist of Threatened Species, and observer data puts the shark catch from long line fisheries at 1.4 million a year2.

"Around the world, consumers are calling for sustainable tuna. It's past time for US companies to catch up with their UK counterparts and offer consumers responsibly caught tuna. That way we can ensure tuna for tomorrow for the oceans, the industry and the millions who rely on tuna for food," Mr Trenor said.

Chicken of the Sea, along with StarKist and Bumble Bee are currently threatening legal action against Greenpeace as a result of this minute and a half long animation https://bit.ly/pelWqz

Greenpeace is refusing to remove the video, and has produced a follow up with further information on FAD and longline fishing https://bit.ly/pBCTR0