How Is Price-Oriented Canned Tuna Compatible With Sustainable And Responsible Sourcing?

Many EU buyers demand sustainable and responsible tuna products, but a high proportion of private label canned tuna are not certified and more price-orientated compared to brands. How is this compatible with those claims and are consumers sensitive to them?

Last week, the annual IOTC Commission meeting adopted, as the first RFMO, to set catch limits for skipjack for fleets. The RFMO did not raise the quota for yellowfin despite the latest Scientific Committee’s conclusion that the stock is no longer overfished. Most of its measures are related to stock and environmental sustainability. However, to the regret of NGOs, social responsibility was not addressed in the discussion as hardly any progress was made on crew labor standards.

Julio Morón, Managing Director of OPAGAC/AGAC, his view is that consumers are more concerned with environmental sustainability than with human rights. However, for retailers, operators, and civil society organizations this is becoming a growing concern. Unions and NGOs campaign for labor rights for fishers as violations are common and often unnoticed practices on certain fleets. In Session III of the European Tuna Conference on May 5 in Barcelona, Moron will explain how the EU model offers the Spanish fleet a differentiator and thus an opportunity, and gives retailers a guarantee of socially sustainable tuna under the standards of the International Labor Organization Convention 188.

Morón has been the Managing Director of the Organization of Associated Producers of Large Freezer Tuna Vessels (OPAGAC) and the Association of Large Freezer Tuna Vessels (AGAC) since 2007. Before, he was a scientific advisor for the organizations in RFMOs and he served as Head of the Spanish Fisheries Office in Seychelles, overseeing the Spanish tuna fleet’s operations in the Indian Ocean.

The European Tuna Conference is the upcoming key event for the tuna industry, taking place May 5, just before the start of the Seafood Expo Global. It will feature expert panel discussions on pressing global and European tuna industry issues, shaped by current economic challenges and future potentials. Professionals from retail, fishing, processing, and trade sectors will be attending.

Gain more gain insights into the tuna business and network with industry professionals.

Check out the full ETC2025 program here. You ar still in time to reserve your seat!