The NGO BLOOM has criticised the European tuna industry in two studies published on Monday 6 May, which show that “the tuna production chain is subject to obscure and misleading practices, both in terms of its carbon impact and the traceability of this chain”.
The first report, entitled ‘From Heaven to Hell’, points out that tuna seine fishing is highly polluting. “When this method is compared with pole-and-line fishing as practiced in the Maldives, a method that is infinitely more selective and respectful of marine ecosystems, it becomes clear that seine fishing is three times more polluting” and that it has negative effects on marine biodiversity, due in particular to the massive use of drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) (floating rafts used to attract schools of tuna), according to the report.
In addition, the socio-economic balance of seine fishing is said to be “deplorable”, since this activity generates 30 times fewer jobs and its profitability is based on a wide range of subsidies and tax benefits granted by the EU.
The second report (‘Tuna’s Black Box’) tackles the complexity and opacity of the tuna trade. It reveals “a system where fraud and illegal fishing are hidden behind the commercial channels of the tuna industry, particularly in the Seychelles archipelago”, according to the NGO.
For further information: https://aeur.eu/f/c2z (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)