UK Tuna Retailers Back Marine Reserves In The Pacificff
13 January 2011
Global Source: Excerpt from Greenpeace Blog Post by Sari Tolvanen Ensuring sustainable fisheries is one part of achieving healthy oceans; the other is protecting larger areas of ocean in marine reserves that will include the protection of migratory species like tuna. But progress towards a global network of marine reserves has been too slow.
In the Pacific – where some of the most healthy tuna stocks remain – Greenpeace is fighting to close the international waters surrounding the Pacific Island States (‘Pacific Commons’) to all tuna fishing as a step towards their establishment as the world’s first high seas marine reserve. This is a move that some fishing nations such as Korea, the US and Taiwan have been opposing in the past.
As part of their leadership on tinned tuna sustainability in the UK, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have pledged their support for the creation of the Pacific Commons marine reserves and have undertaken not to source any fish from the area in the meanwhile. ASDA – the UK branch of Walmart – have also made the same pledge.
Support by retailers, restaurants and tuna traders across the world is needed to ensure that the market dries up for tuna coming from the proposed closed areas. This will make it easier for the political negotiations to create marine reserves.
I am currently in Taiwan on the Rainbow Warrior for our East Asia Ocean Defenders tour - rallying support for the creation of fully protected marine reserves in the Pacific. Taiwan has the largest tuna long-line fleets in the region and despite them recently agreeing to closing some high seas areas to purse seine fishing – they have not agreed to take their long liners out of these important conservation areas. The political steps to achieve full closures of the Pacific Commons including long-line fishing will be difficult.
