02/05/2021
BANGKOK – May 2, 2021 – As we celebrate World Tuna Day today, Thai Union Group reaffirmed its ambitious goal to achieve 100 percent sustainably sourced tuna in its branded products as part of a broader commitment to the sustainability of the world’s oceans.
Thai Union continues to work towards this strategy and exceeded its target of achieving a minimum of 75 percent by 2020, with 90 percent of its tuna sourced from fisheries that are either Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified or in a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).
“As one of the world’s largest canned tuna providers, we have a responsibility to show leadership and set ambitious goals for improvement,” said Dr. Darian McBain, Group Director, Sustainability, at Thai Union. “When we announced our Tuna Commitment in 2016, we did so with the goal of transforming tuna sourcing for the entire global seafood industry. We have made some great advancements towards this goal as we continue to deliver nutritious seafood while helping combat climate change through supporting dietary shifts.”
Further details of Thai Union’s Tuna Commitment will be available in the Company’s annual Sustainability Report, which will be published later this month.
Thai Union continues to make progress across its operations as it words towards ensuring tuna stocks remain healthy for future generations while allowing the Company to continue delivering healthy and nutritious products to millions of consumers around the world through our market-leading brands including Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch, and Thai-leading brands such as SEALECT.
Earlier this year, Thai Union announced a pioneering commitment to supply-chain transparency in its global tuna supply chains through a partnership with The Natural Conservancy. This will involve Thai Union deploying electronic monitoring on all of its partner vessels in its supply chains – including onboard video cameras, GPS, and sensors to automatically track activities onboard – and/or human observers.
Thai Union is also continually working to improve labor and worker conditions in the fishing sector. Each year, Thai Union conducts audits of tuna vessels in its supply chain under the Company’s Vessel Code of Conduct, which was introduced in 2017 to provide clear guidance to the fishing vessels from which the Company sources.
Thai Union is also 100 percent compliant with the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) science-based conservation measures to improve the long-term health of tuna fisheries that include traceability, prohibiting shark finning and the successful elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
–ENDS–
Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader, bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as one of the world’s leading seafood producers and is one of the largest producers of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 132.4 billion (US$ 4.2 billion) and a global workforce of more than 44,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch, Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo, and ingredient and supplement brands UniQ™BONE, UniQ™DHA and ZEAvita.
As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized when the company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the seventh consecutive year in 2020, and ranked number two in the world on the Food Products Industry Index. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the fifth straight year in 2020.