Fish Aggregation Devices [FADs]

Greenpeace investigation reveals new incidents of forced labour on Thai-operated vessels

Last edited 4 November 2015 at 1:02pm
4 November, 2015
Bangkok, 4 November 2015 – John West owner, Thai Union Group, has not done enough to alleviate concerns over human rights abuses in the company’s tuna supply chain despite recent media scrutiny of its business operations, according to a Greenpeace investigation.

The report features new interviews with survivors of trafficking and forced labour in Indonesia who faced abuse and food deprivation on Thai-operated fishing vessels. These ships transferred their tuna and other fish to a Thai carrier vessel, Marine One, which is owned by Thailand’s Silver Sea Line Co. Ltd – the same company implicated in a recent Associated Press investigation for transporting seafood caught using forced labour to a Thai Union supplier.

Greenpeace lifts the lid on John West’s tuna

Last edited 28 October 2015 at 8:56am
28 October, 2015


  • Giant tuna tin sculpture installed outside John West’s Liverpool HQ
  • Projected films show Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the people of Liverpool slamming John West and its owner Thai Union over environmental destruction and links to human rights abuses

Wednesday 28th October, 2015, Liverpool - At 6.30am this morning Greenpeace activists installed an enormous, provocative, sculpture outside tuna company John West’s Liverpool HQ, to protest against the company’s destructive fishing practices and to highlight John West’s owner Thai Union’s links to human rights abuses.

John West: another broken promise

Last edited 14 October 2015 at 11:49am
14 October, 2015

**Update: John West has now amended its website to include Thailand in the menu of its can tracker, but the option does not allow customers to track the can, but instead asks them to email John West for further details.**

- Greenpeace investigation finds tuna cans with “100% traceable” label can’t be traced as John West claims

- In addition, thousands of John West tuna products in supermarkets found to come from Thailand – a country which is not an option in the company’s Can Tracker tool

- John West has responsibility to show customers full transparency, especially given international concerns over Thai fishing industry – which include environmental destruction and human rights abuses

- Greenpeace says John West must call on owners Thai Union to guarantee its supply chain is free from human rights abuses and destructive fishing practices

A Greenpeace investigation has laid bare John West’s empty promise over the “traceability” of its tuna.

John West's broken promises

Posted by Ariana Densham — 12 October 2015 at 10:35am - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Emily Buchanan

It’s only been a few days since our tuna league table exposed John West’s broken promise to only source sustainable tuna, but it’s been making waves everywhere.  We’ve had celebrities like Gillian Anderson coming out in support of the campaign, and were even invited on This Morning with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to talk about how John West’s customers have been duped.

The winners and losers: tinned tuna league table kicks off new campaign to end destructive fishing

Posted by Ariana Densham — 2 October 2015 at 4:29pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Emily Buchanan
John West are failing to meet their commitment to source sustainable tuna

The new Greenpeace tinned tuna league table exposes the wide gulf between UK supermarkets and brands which have taken sustainability seriously and those which have simply broken promises to clean up. Use this to help you decide which brands to buy and which to avoid until they improve. 

#JustTuna

For the first time, this league table ranks brands on a wider range of issues. Yes, there’s fishing methods of course, but we’ve also rated them on;

Is John West really “vehemently against” dirty tuna fishing?

Posted by Ariana Densham — 24 October 2014 at 3:29pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
Will John West end their use of destructive tuna fishing that harms other marine life?

This is how John West responded after over 100,000 messages were sent demanding they stick to their promise to completely phase out fish aggregation devices (FADs).

Tesco forced to back down in tinned tuna row

Last edited 11 April 2014 at 4:45pm
11 April, 2014

London - Greenpeace and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are claiming victory in their campaign against Tesco and the cut-price tuna brand Oriental & Pacific.

 An investigation into the tinned tuna brand revealed it uses a fishing method that kills sharks, rays and turtles. The campaign launched early last month calling for Tesco to pull the brand, but Britain’s biggest supermarket refused to act. Now the manufacturers of Oriental & Pacific have written to Greenpeace saying that from end of April 2015 it will only sell sustainable-sourced tuna.

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