From CBC.ca – Feb 1, 2011

Greenpeace Canada says a survey of 14 major tuna fish brands sold in
the country suggests most of them come from destructive fishery
practices.

A report by the environmental organization gives a passing grade to
only two brands — Wild Planet Foods and Raincoast Trading — because they
use more selective fishing gear, support more locally owned operations
and provide clearer labelling for consumers.

Ocean Fisheries took third place, while several house brand tuna sold by grocery stores followed down the ranking list.

Popular brand Clover Leaf, which holds the largest market share of
Canada’s canned seafood, was ranked 11th and didn’t respond to the
survey.

“Unico came in last after not responding to Greenpeace’s
questionnaire and having no publicly available information suggesting
any type of policy or sustainability commitment,” the report authors
said.

Greenpeace said tuna stocks are on the decline and are plagued by
overfishing and harvesting techniques that threaten other marine life,
including turtles, sharks and sea birds.

The organization said it wants supermarket chains and canned fish
brands to provide tuna from sustainable sources and avoid illegal and
destructive fisheries.

“Canned tuna is a staple in many Canadian homes and is found in every
supermarket chain, but that could change if tuna sourcing doesn’t,”
Greenpeace oceans campaigner Sarah King said in a statement.

A report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on
Monday said global fish consumption hit record levels in 2008, thanks in
large part to the growing fish-farming industry. However, the report
also noticed that many fisheries — including most tuna stocks — are
still struggling due to overfishing.