Thai Union Signs Public Pledge to Protect Ocean Wildlife Thai Union Expands Commitments to Restore Endangered Species, Invites Companies to Join
Kathryn Novak and Adam Brennan with the Protecting Ocean Wildlife pledge.
Barcelona – Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood companies, today became the inaugural company to sign Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Protecting Ocean Wildlife pledge. New commitments include identifying the fisheries of highest risk of endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) bycatch and reducing those risks through broad adoption of best practices, 100-percent observer coverage, support of innovation and science, continuous improvement in supply chains, and public reporting.
“We are proud to be the first company to sign the pledge, and we urge other seafood companies to join us in this commitment. It is only through the efforts of the leaders in our industry that we will achieve the results and ultimate goals in protecting and restoring our endangered marine life” said Adam Brennan, group director, sustainability, Thai Union.
In March 2023, Thai Union committed to only source from vessels that are implementing best practices to protect ocean wildlife from bycatch. This commitment was based on research by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) on the risks to sharks, seabirds, turtles and other marine wildlife in the fisheries that supply the company and an analysis by Key Traceability of Thai Union’s tuna fishery improvement projects and in the highest risk fisheries that were identified in the audit. Thai Union’s audit is available to read online.
“It’s great that Thai Union is starting the movement, but reducing bycatch in commercial fisheries will only happen if the entire industry adopts this level of commitment,” said Kathryn Novak, SFP’S biodiversity and nature director. “We invite other companies to take the pledge. In fact, we’re setting a goal to get 10 more companies signed on by World Oceans Day in June.”
Thai Union’s “bycatch audit” was undertaken as part of SFP’s Protecting Ocean Wildlife initiative, an international, industry-led effort to address marine wildlife bycatch. SFP conducted a review and assessment of Thai Union’s source fisheries using existing sustainability data to determine risks, overlaps with the company’s key products, and where the most impacts can be made to reduce ocean wildlife bycatch.
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership encourages seafood companies to reach out to learn more about reducing ocean bycatch.
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About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Founded in 2006, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a marine conservation organization working toward a world where the oceans are healthy, all seafood is produced sustainably, and everyone has access to sustainable seafood. We leverage the power of seafood buyers and retailers in every part of the seafood supply chain to rebuild depleted fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, address social issues in fishing, and advance economic opportunities for fishers and their communities. Our Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs) allow seafood suppliers to work together in a pre-competitive environment to promote and support improvements in fishery and aquaculture practices, management, and policy. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About Thai Union
Thai Union Group PCL is the world's seafood leader, bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for 46 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as one of the world's leading seafood producers and is one of the largest producers of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 155.6 billion (US$ 4.4 billion) and a global workforce of more than 44,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, Hawesta, and Rügen Fisch, Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, OMG Meat, Bellotta and Marvo, and ingredient and supplement brands UniQ®BONE, UniQ®DHA and ZEAvita.
As a company committed to “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans,” Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a founding participating company of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), and current Chair of Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS). Thai Union's ongoing work through its SeaChange® sustainability strategy was recognized when the company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the ninth consecutive year in 2022. The company was ranked number one on the Food Products Industry Index of the DJSI, a position it previously held in 2018 and 2019. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the sixth straight year in 2021. Find out more about the Group’s sustainability at seachangesustainability.org.
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