A banner reading ‘Tunasecrets.com – What the tuna industry doesn’t want you to know’ was displayed on the side of the balloon. Chicken of the Sea, one of the largest tuna companies in the United States, uses floating fish lures (known as fish aggregating devices, or “FADs”) and enormous purse seine nets to catch tuna, a method that kills many other animals as well.
For every 1000 pounds of skipjack tuna caught in this manner, between fifty and one hundred pounds of sharks, marlin, rays, mahi mahi, and other animals are killed and thrown overboard. Additionally, about 15-20% of the tuna in question isn’t actually skipjack, but rather juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tunas – two larger species that are in serious peril. Bigeye is considered to be at serious risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1]
“Greenpeace wants the same thing as the tuna industry; tuna for tomorrow,” said Greenpeace Campaigner Casson Trenor.
“We want to secure the future of our oceans for our children and grandchildren and for those that rely on tuna for their livelihood and food.
“In the United Kingdom, the entire tuna industry has made a commitment to move to sustainable methods of fishing.[2] We believe American consumers deserve responsible tuna too. Greenpeace urges US consumers to stand up to this company and to demand sustainable and responsibly caught tuna.” Mr Trenor said.
Chicken of the Sea also uses longline fishing, one of the most notorious ways to catch fish. Sea turtles, sharks and sea birds often impale themselves on the hundreds of miles of hooks, which kill indiscriminately. Thousands of these animals are killed every year by tuna longlines.
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