International food and drink manufacturer Princes Group has announced it is on track to supply all of its tuna from responsible sources by the end of 2019. Princes succeeded in its goal to – by 2017 – supply all brands and territories with 90% responsibly sourced tuna.

Fisheries that supply responsibly sourced fish, according to Princes, are either certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), involved in a time-bound fishery improvement project (FIP) working towards MSC standards, or free from fish aggregating devices (FAD) – buoys or floats tied down by concrete blocks near which fish tend to aggregate.

Princes is voluntarily and independently audited against its own tuna sustainability commitments as well as those of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation.

To secure its 90% target, Princes helped to launch two FIPs in April and November 2017. The former was a tuna FIP for the Indian Ocean which involved a partnership agreement between 17 organisations in an industry-led, multi-stakeholder initiative. The latter involved Princes signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) along with seven other tuna suppliers, launching of a pole and line tuna FIP in Senegal.

Princes corporate relations director David McDiarmid said: “We fully understand the responsibility we have to ensure that this vital natural resource is sourced responsibly. As one of the UK’s biggest importers of tuna, the responsible sourcing of tuna stocks and playing a role in driving positive sustainable change is of crucial importance to our current and future business.”

McDiarmid also mentioned that Princes is satisfied with its progress thus far and is committed to general improvements in the global tuna industry and the increasing participation in FIPs across the world.

Princes will participate in FIPs until they deliver fully certified tuna to MSC standards. After Princes reaches its target, it has stated that it will remain fully committed to ensuring all of its tuna continues to be responsibly sourced from 2019 and beyond.

Recently, the MSC strengthened its certification regulations to ensure high-risk companies pass a successful audit on forced and child labour.  The organisation displays a ‘blue tick’ on its range of salmon, mackerel and now tuna as fisheries continue to improve their practices.

The company’s two tuna processing sites in Mauritius are also MSC Chain of Custody certified and both hold SA8000 certification for social accountability. The Chain of Custody is a traceability and segregation standard that applied to the fish supply chain from the fishery to the supermarket.

A valid MSC Chain of Custody certificate is obligatory for all companies in the supply chain, which assures consumers and seafood-buyers that the product is sourced from a certified sustainable fishery.