To mark World Tuna Day, Coles has announced that its Own Brand canned tuna will begin to carry the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue fish tick label from September, making it the first Australian supermarket to commit to the MSC standard for sustainable fishing and seafood supply chain assurance across its canned tuna range.
Once the transition is complete, over 45 Own Brand canned tuna products, including Coles Tuna Chunks, Pacific brand Yellowfin Tuna and Wild Tides, will contain tuna caught in MSC-certified fisheries and feature the MSC blue fish tick label, to assure customers they are purchasing wild seafood from a sustainable fishery.
Coles general manager Own Brand, Quality and Responsible Sourcing, Charlotte Rhodes, said the decision to source tuna from fisheries with credible wild seafood certification programs provides customers with added confidence at the checkout.
“By adding the MSC blue fish tick label to all Coles brand canned tuna we’re demonstrating the great lengths we are going to to make sustainable choices more accessible and more convenient for our customers.
“This important milestone will see Coles have the largest MSC-certified own brand seafood range in the country and be on track to become the first Aussie supermarket to have its entire canned fish range third party certified by the leading global standards for sustainable seafood.”
The additional MSC-certified tuna products will be available in Coles stores nationally by the end of the year, taking the total number of MSC-certified Own Brand products to 75 including the Coles Canned Pink Salmon range, Frozen Beer Battered Fish Fillets and Thawed Australian Raw Banana Prawns.
MSC program director Oceania and Singapore, Anne Gabriel, said that Coles’ commitment to source MSC-certified tuna across its entire own brand canned tuna range recognises and rewards the sustainable tuna fishing communities safeguarding this vital resource for the future.
“We commend Coles for offering Aussies affordable, MSC-certified sustainable canned tuna at a time when global demand for the fish is increasing, and the pressure on tuna populations and ecosystems has intensified.
“By offering Australians access to third-party verified sustainable tuna, Coles is joining a global movement of tuna brands playing their part to celebrate and incentivise MSC-certified tuna fisheries, which account for over 40% of tuna fisheries worldwide.”
The MSC is an international non-profit on a mission to end overfishing and restore fish stocks for future generations. The MSC blue fish tick label on a seafood product means it comes from a wild-catch fishery which has been independently certified to the MSC’s standard for sustainable fishing and has been kept separate all along the supply chain.
