More than 200 chefs and restaurant owners in the US have sent a letter to Congress asking for authorities to crack down on IUU fishing and forced labor abuses. They argue that they serve seafood to millions of customers per year and that their ability to “reliably provide sustainable and ethical seafood to our customers is at risk.”

Hence, they ask to improve and cover all loopholes of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), which currently allows for more than 60 percent of seafood imports to be traded untraced. “Fortunately, Congress can address these issues by passing legislation that stops illegally caught seafood from reaching U.S. markets,” they said. The list of signatories ranges from celebrity chef and host of the competition program Top Chef, Tom Colicchio to cookbook author, Amy Sherman.

RD Tuna Canners from Papua New Guinea (PNG) has committed to fighting plastic pollution. It will be replacing the plastic wrap around its Dolly Tuna brand's six-pack of canned tuna with a cardboard sleeve. The company is the first to offer such eco-friendly packaging in PNG.

By changing the packaging for the No. 1 brand in the country, the processor wants to set an example as it believes sustainability has to start within its business. The company believes this will start sustainable development in PNG. Other well-known brands produced by RD are Diana Tuna and Dolores.

SCS Global Services, the conformity assessment body of the PNG Fishing Industry Association (FIA) for MSC assessment has determined that the fishery’s scope extension to include bigeye should be granted. It received its initial MSC logo for skipjack and yellowfin in May 2020.

The PNG-FIA fishery targets tuna on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, in both its EEZ and Archipelagic Waters on free schools. It also uses anchored and drifting FAD sets. The MSC certification covers 84 vessels – they are flagged to PNG, Philippines, Vanuatu, Micronesia, Nauru, and Taiwan.