Bumble Bee Seafoods commits to sustainable tuna

SAN DIEGO -- One of America's leading brands of canned seafood is appealing to the increasing number of consumers who care about where their food comes from.

Bumble Bee Seafoods has joined with the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) in the Western Central Pacific Ocean to promote and actively trade sustainably caught skipjack and yellowfin tuna to consumers around the world.

“The long-term sustainability of the world’s oceans is critical to the long-term viability of our business,” said Chris Lischewski, Bumble Bee president and CEO. “About 25% of the global catch of tuna comes from this region and we’re proud to partner with Pacifical to raise additional awareness of their commitment to social accountability, food safety and traceability.”

The island nations who established Pacifical include the Federal States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The leaders of these countries wanted to combine resources and expertise to ensure sustainable fishing, create employment opportunities for their people and to ensure a fair economic return on their main natural resource, which is tuna.

As part of the business agreement, Pacifical will provide Bumble Bee with 100% traceability to all MSC certified products. This will include tracing product to vessel name, captain name, fishing method and catching period.

“We know people want to purchase sustainable products and we also know they want to know where their food is coming from,” said Lischewski. “This partnership further demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, transparency and delivering high-quality, safe and nutritious seafood to consumers.”