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#1 Wild Planet
Verdict ...An eco-brand dedicated to greening store shelves and driving industry change.
Ocean Safe Products
All Wild Planet & Sustainable Seas brand canned tuna.
Wild Planet has a strong, fully implemented sustainable sourcing policy and provides information on its website to inform consumers about its products.
All Wild Planet products are pole and line or troll caught—two fishing methods with minimal impacts on other marine life.
Wild Planet supports protecting our oceans and has vowed not to source tuna from the proposed high seas ocean sanctuaries of the Western and Central Pacific.
The company provides important sustainability information on its canned tuna product labels, which allows its customers to know more about the tuna they buy.
Wild Planet advocates for improvements to strengthen fisheries management and shift the tuna industry toward more responsible fishing practices.
Wild Planet Foods is a company dedicated to providing sustainable tuna products. Its Wild Planet and Sustainable Seas brands are found in stores nationwide and its market presence is growing with increased demand for responsibly-caught tuna. Since the last Tuna Guide, Wild Planet updated its procurement policy, strengthening it even further to state its commitment to social responsibility.
Wild Planet’s top rank is a reflection of its continued efforts to improve its operations and the larger industry.
http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/thewild-way/sustainability/
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#2 American Tuna
Verdict: A trusted sustainable tuna brand and pole and line tuna advocate.
Ocean Safe Products
All American Tuna and Pole & Line brand canned tuna.
All tuna is caught by pole and line—a turtle, shark, and seabird friendly fishing method.
All American Tuna products are traceable from sea to can, and have labels that display important product information.
American Tuna’s policy and other product information can be found on its website.
American Tuna supports local and small-scale tuna fishing and processing in the U.S.
American Tuna supports ocean conservation through the creation of marine reserves.
American Tuna is a San Diego-based company founded by six pole and line fishing families. American Tuna works to connect pole and line fishers, and supports the development of more sustainable and socially responsible fisheries. While American Tuna customers have trusted the brand as a more responsible choice when it comes to ocean protection, the company’s move to solidify its eco-practices with a public policy is significant. This increased American Tuna’s rank this year to tie for first place in the Tuna Guide.
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#3 Whole Foods
Verdict
This guide’s top-ranked U.S. retailer has a commitment to sell only responsibly-caught canned tuna by early 2018.
Ocean Safe Products
All 365 Everyday Value brand skipjack and albacore.
All 365 Everyday Value tuna is pole and line caught—a fishing method with minimal impacts on other marine life.
365 Everyday Value tuna products indicate the species and catch method on labels.
Whole Foods is the first and only U.S. retailer with a commitment to sell only pole and line, handline, or troll caught canned tuna. By early 2018, any canned tuna sold in Whole Foods will be responsibly-caught.
Whole Foods will feature more information online and in stores to inform customers about sustainable tuna.
Whole Foods has strong traceability systems to ensure that its tuna is responsibly sourced.
Whole Foods has worked for years to provide more sustainable seafood for customers in its fresh and frozen departments. In March 2017, Whole Foods made history as the first U.S. retailer to commit to selling 100% sustainable canned tuna and upholding strong labor standards. Soon, any canned tuna on store shelves will be sourced from best practice fishing methods like pole and line, handline, or troll. These catch methods benefit small-scale fisheries and significantly reduce the likelihood of human rights violations. This commitment sets the bar for other retailers to follow and sends a strong message to failing tuna brands that their time of ocean destruction is coming to an end.
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#4 Ocean Naturals
Verdict Global tuna company Tri Marine provides responsibly-caught tuna.
Ocean Safe Products
All Ocean Naturals brand canned tuna.
Ocean Naturals FAD-free skipjack and pole and line caught albacore tuna is fully traceable from ship to shelf.
Ocean Naturals product labels provide information about the fishing method that helps customers ensure they are making a better choice.
Ocean Naturals’ website provides customers clear information about the sustainability of its products.
Tri Marine has a public commitment against destructive practices like shark finning and reflects this commitment by offering pole and troll caught albacore tuna.
Tri Marine needs to be more clear about how it ensures social responsibility in its supply chains.
Ocean Naturals is owned by Tri Marine—one of the largest tuna traders in the world. When introduced a few years ago, this responsibly-caught brand offered a clear alternative to destructive national brands. The closing of Tri Marine’s American Samoa processing plant leaves questions about the future and direction of Ocean Naturals. Tri Marine must continue to help lead the industry in the right direction and use its clout to ensure that more responsibly-caught tuna replaces destructive tuna lining supermarket shelves.
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#5 Hy-Vee
Verdict: Some better options on shelves, with improvements ahead.
Ocean Safe Products
Hy-Vee Select “Responsible Choice” skipjack and albacore.
Hy-Vee offers responsibly-caught pole and line skipjack and pole and troll albacore under its “Responsible Choice” Hy-Vee Select brand.
Hy-Vee’s website and blog are great resources for customers to learn about seafood sustainability.
Hy-Vee offers a pole and line caught yellowfin tuna product, but there are stock health concerns with some of its sourcing.
While Hy-Vee’s new tuna commitment is a welcome sign, questions remain about its implementation timeline.
Hy-Vee must build on its sustainable tuna commitment to integrate social standards that protect workers (e.g., ensuring no transshipment at sea, ensuring strong labor standards are upheld on fishing vessels).
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned private company operating in the Midwest. Ocean lovers rejoice: this retailer is serious about sustainable seafood. It even has a blog featuring seafood sustainability. Hy-Vee will likely move into the green category as it implements its sustainable tuna commitments and addresses key social responsibility issues that protect workers’ rights. Based on its leadership thus far, expect big changes ahead.
https://www.hy-vee.com/company/sustainability/responsible-choice-seafood.aspx
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#6 Wegmans
Verdict: A retailer driven to make a difference and it shows.
Ocean Safe Products
Look for Wegmans brand pole and line canned tuna, coming soon.
Wegmans was one of the first U.S. retailers to release a detailed sustainable tuna policy. It is actively working to implement its policy (e.g., source from healthier tuna stocks, offer responsibly-caught tuna).
Wegmans does not support sourcing longline caught tuna that is transshipped at sea, a practice that puts fishers at risk of human rights abuses and contributes to destructive, illegal, and untraceable fishing.
Along with providing point of sale information in stores, Wegmans should reinstate its sustainable seafood website, which for years had extensive information to guide customers toward responsible choices.
Wegmans must improve its auditing procedures to independently evaluate sustainability and social responsibility claims from suppliers.
Wegmans currently sources from vessels that use destructive fishing practices and must improve its standards to ensure that its tuna is not connected to human rights violations.
Founded by the Wegman family, this retailer takes pride in offering its customers quality products. Its seafood team has worked hard for years to offer more sustainable seafood. This is welcome news for customers committed to protecting the oceans and workers’ rights, and sends a message to big tuna brands that it’s time to lead too. If Wegmans works to ensure that its own brand tuna is responsibly-caught, increases information available to customers, and prioritizes its social standards, this Rochester-based retailer will be well on its way to the green category. |
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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#1 Wild Planet
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