June 2, 2017 — A new “Tuna Traceability Declaration” is seeking to encourage the tuna industry to improve sustainability and social conditions in the tuna-fishing industry.
The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration was created in advance of United Nations Ocean Conference, taking place 5 to 9 June in New York City. The declaration is not legally binding, but is meant to encourage actions and partnerships from and between tuna harvesters, processors, retailers, traders and related nonprofits and concerned governments, to improve the health of tuna populations worldwide. The initiative is in response to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.
The declaration is being promoted by the nonprofit World Economic Forum, which brings together global leaders from diverse backgrounds, including business and government to aid the organization’s mission of being “committed to improving the state of the world.”
According to the World Economic Forum, The declaration requires the following commitments from its signees:
- Tuna traceability commitment
- Pledge that all tuna products in our supply chains will be fully traceable to the vessel and trip dates, and that this information will be disclosed upon request at the point of sale either on the packaging or via an online system.
- Commitment to a socially responsible tuna supply chain
- Pledge to eliminate any form of slavery and ensure suppliers at least meet minimum social standards in management practices as recommended in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s conventions and recommendations.
- Commitment to environmentally responsible tuna sources
- Pledge to source from tuna fisheries that have implemented: a) Robust science-based management plans, including harvest strategies that can maintain stocks at, or restore them at least to, levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield; and b) Measures to ensure that impacts of fisheries on the environment are sustainable, including bycatch mitigation techniques.
- Put this pledge into effect by continuing to explore new opportunities to support the multi-stakeholder initiatives mentioned above, and work to continually increase sourcing from tuna fisheries certified by schemes that are internationally recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).