BANGKOK — Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood conglomerates, said Tuesday it will overhaul its fishing practices to protect against labor abuses and unsustainable trawling, a move hailed by Greenpeace as “huge progress.”
The Thai food giant — which owns major global brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West and Petit Navire — has long been a bete noire to those campaigning against overfishing and abusive working conditions on boats.
But on Tuesday it released a joint statement with Greenpeace announcing a series of reforms that both said should encourage other seafood behemoths to follow suit.
“This marks huge progress for our oceans and marine life and for the rights of people working in the seafood industry,” Greenpeace International Executive Director Bunny McDiarmid said in the statement.
“Now is the time for other companies to step up, and show similar leadership.”
Among the commitments Thai Union has made is to cut the number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) it uses by 50% by 2020 and reduce longline fishing.
FADs, which float on the surface to attract fish, and longlines are effective ways of catching large hauls of lucrative fish like tuna.
But they often result in reams of other animals being caught, including endangered sharks and turtles.
The reforms will also target working conditions on board Thai Union boats and those of its suppliers including an extended moratorium on “transshipping.” — AFP
