Eco-friendly shoppers in the UK will have their first taste of sustainable Western Pacific tuna as Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified cans of the fish hit shelves this month. The tuna will be added to the Princes range, making it the first brand in the country to offer MSC tuna from this region. 

Princes tuna chunks 160g and selected tuna chunks four packs will all now carry the MSC ‘blue fish’ eco label. This follows the recent addition of MSC salmon and mackerel to the Princes range, part of its longstanding commitment to sourcing MSC fish. 

Processed at Princes factory in Mauritius, the tuna is sourced from the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) fishery, the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. MSC certified PNA tuna is caught using FAD-free fishing methods. Comprising eight countries, the PNA members work together to sustainably manage tuna and controls around 50% of the world’s skipjack tuna. Princes cans will also bear the logo of Pacifical, the global tuna marketing organisation set up by PNA. 

Neil Brownbill, Marketing Director at Princes, comments, “We are delighted this product has reached consumers after a considerable effort from all parties involved. We are fully committed to the quality, integrity and long term sustainability of the seafood we sell and are very pleased and proud that this product carries the MSC ecolabel”. 

MSC Programme Director, North East Atlantic, Toby Middleton adds, “This is a really important step for sustainable fishing. Princes is supporting a groundbreaking fishery that’s working across eight countries to preserve tuna stocks for generations. And by expanding its MSC certified tinned products, it’s also helping to make sustainable fish accessible to all shoppers.  Great news for fish lovers and the environment”. 

Read more about the PNA fishery here: http://pna-stories.msc.org/