Business supports efforts to save tuna, calls on governments to take action

Leading businesses signed up to WWF's Tuna Market Manifesto pledging not to buy or sell Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna in a move aimed at helping the species recover from overfishing, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to WWF.

The companies backing the campaign have also joined WWF in calling on governments, currently meeting for key talks of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Paris, to take urgent action and help the species to recover.

The Tuna Market Manifesto, presented Wednesday morning to ICCAT chairman Fabio Hazin during tuna management discussions in Paris, states that the businesses will give Atlantic bluefin tuna a break until fishing is being sustainably managed by ICCAT and the species population is recovering.

Mismanagement and overfishing - especially in the Mediteranean Sea - have led to decades of overexploitation and brought eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna, admired by sushi lovers, to the brink of collapse.

"The global business world is standing up for sustainable seafood and in increasing numbers is refusing to trade in endangered Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna until the fishery is being managed in a responsible manner and the species is recovering," said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. "WWF applauds this bold stance from the private sector and encourages other businesses to sign up."

While ICCAT failed for four decades to manage the constantly shrinking tuna stocks, businesses including Carrefour, Ikea, Sodexo, famous sushi restaurant chains itsu and Moshi Moshi - and many others - have decided to make that step themselves.

"The Carrefour Group will not sell Atlantic bluefin tuna in any of its outlets around the world until the fisheries are being managed in a way that will allow the tuna to recover," said Hervé Gomichon, Quality Manager at the Carrefour Group.

"Our interest is in responsible commerce - conducting business in a sustainable way that does not deplete natural resources but allows future generations to live on the planet comfortably. Carrefour joins WWF in urging ICCAT to put in place drastic measures that will enable a moderate consumption of Atlantic bluefin tuna long into the future."

WWF is calling on governments to set an end to rule-bending and impunity for illegal fishing. The global conservation group is urging ICCAT member governments to put in place a robust, science-based management plan that will allow Atlantic bluefin tuna to recover.

Specifically, WWF urges ICCAT to cut total catch of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean from the current 13,500 tonnes per year to between 0 and 6,000 tonnes, and to allocate the remaining catch to artisanal fishing fleets. Destructive industrial purse seine fleets and fattening farms in the Mediterranean must be urgently phased out, and no-fishing sanctuaries should be established in the six known spawning grounds for the species in the Mediterranean Sea.

The following companies support WWF's Tuna Market Manifesto:

CARREFOUR • IKEA • SODEXO • DELHAIZE • FAIRMONT • LOBLAWS

SUSHI TAXI • ATAC • AUCHAN • AUGUSTE • CASINO • ELIOR

EUROTOQUES • RELAIS & CHATEAUX • RELAIS DU PARC • SIMPLY MARKET

EDEKA • GOTTFRIED FRIEDRICHS • YAGURA, EATON HOTEL • COOP ITALIA

CENTER PARCS • ICA • COOP NORWAY • EROSKI • MEMENTO

BRASCHLER BIANCHI • BELL SEAFOOD • COOP SWITZERLAND • DYHRBERG

MIGROS • DÖRIG & BRANDL • MARINEX • OSPELT FOOD • ULTRA MARINE FOOD

GEORGE KNIGHT • ITSU • LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

M&J •  MOSHI MOSHI • MOURNE SEAFOOD • PRET A MANGER