Have you ever thought about what exactly is in those cans of tuna stacked along the supermarket shelves? Neither have I, but it seems Greenpeace International did – and they found something interesting.
Tuna was once an exotic foodstuff but has become a common and popular source of fish for households around the world. Greenpeace recently commissioned the first ever independent public genetic tests of tinned tuna because they want to know just exactly what goes on inside the tins of 50 various brands. The analysis of products from 12 countries including Australia, Canada, the US and some European countries has turned up some shocking things inside of them.
Some tins (brands Calvo, Campos in Spain) contained two different species of tuna while others (Clover Leaf, Canada and Nostromo [owned by Calvo, Italy]) were not consistent – in one batch a certain species of tuna was found while in a separate batch a different species of tuna was found.
This kind of sloppy behaviour towards providing consumers with a regulated and consistent product should already ring the alarm bells in you, but there is even more to be worried about.
The tinned tuna industry, in a blatant disregard for its customers and future tuna availability, is forcing retailers and consumers into involvement in a “trail of destruction”. The boats that catch the tuna use a fish aggregation device (FAD) to attract large numbers of fish. The FAD attracts all kinds of species young and old, and results in bycatch. Turtles, sharks and different species of tuna (this includes juveniles of species already under pressure like yellowfin tuna or bigeye tuna) are caught up in the same nets.
Sharks either drown in the nets or die unnecessary agonizing deaths after having their fins cut off, and so do the turtles and other non-target fish. Greenpeace want consumers to know that even though there is no shark or turtle in tuna tins, but the sorting and identification of juvenile tuna is apparently (this is according to the fishing industry) difficult and as a result the different species get tinned together.
The problem lies with the FADs. The use of the fish-attractors alongside purse seine nets the tuna industry is destroying its own future by pushing towards the collapse of tuna stocks. Because the fishing industry is catching large amounts of juvenile tuna there will be less large tuna in the future as the fish are not given the chance to grow up.
So, Greenpeace is calling for a FADs ban in purse seining. If the fishing industry cannot use the devices responsibly it should not use them at all. Greenpeace say that fishing with “seine nets only would help minimise the bycatch of other animals, as well as drastically reduce the amount of juvenile tuna ending up in tins.”
You can make a difference by using your buying power in your supermarket. Don’t buy dodgy tinned tuna, try to find an alternative. The tinned tuna industry will only clean up its act if you force them to. You can also help by signing the Greenpeace petition.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
