English | Español

Greenpeace Sparks Change Down Under

by Campaign for Eco-Safe Tuna
January 23, 2013

 

We think a sea turtle sandwich sounds pretty gross. Apparently Greenpeace thinks so too.

The recent ad, which features a baby sea turtle napping – we hope – between lettuce, tomato and a couple slices of sourdough, is part of the organization's "Change Our Tuna" campaign, aimed at transforming an Australia tuna industry which still relies on FADs.

FADs – Fish Aggregation Devices – are floating objects traditionally made of logs and branches that fisherman use to attract tuna to congregate in a single location. The problem is that tuna aren't the only sea creatures that like FADs, and commercial fisheries inevitably scoop up other species like sharks, manta rays and our beloved baby sea turtles. Greenpeace estimates that FAD fishing techniques result in the unnecessary deaths of 27 million tons of marine life each year.

So the environmentally conscious activists went after Australia to drive the adoption of more sustainable fishing practices. James Lorenz, Communications Manager for Greenpeace made this plea to Australia's tuna eaters:

"Australians care deeply about our oceans and are shocked when they find out some of our favourite brands continue to use destructive fishing methods. As consumers we have the power to make a real difference just by carefully choosing which brands are put in our shopping baskets."

Was Australia listening?

You bet!

Within just six weeks of the campaign's launch, 20,000 Aussies chimed in to demand more sustainable fishing practices from their country's tuna industry. Public outcry has been so overwhelming that it has already led John West, one of Australia's largest tuna companies, to announce it will phase out FAD fishing by 2015.

Not too shabby for only a month-and-a-half. While we commend Greenpeace for its "Change Our Tuna" campaign and its efforts to reform Australia's fishing practices, we also want to congratulate John West for heeding the call of its consumers and making the commitment to adopt eco-safe fishing practices.

Because nobody wants a side of sea turtle with their tuna melt.