Canned tuna. (Photo: John West)

Tesco axes John West tuna from its shelves over environmental issues

After carrying out a review, Tesco decided to de-list a number of core John West lines with effect from the end of July as part of the firm’s commitment to strengthen sustainability standards for the affordable quality fish offered.

The retailer’s representatives informed that their customers will still see some John West tuna products on their shelves and that they are working with John West on a plan for these remaining lines to be converted to sustainable tuna sources as soon as possible.

“We’re not experts on all the complexities of global fishery management, but we are committed to working with the right suppliers and non-governmental organisations so we can provide our customers with high-quality sustainable seafood they want at affordable prices,” the retailer’s release reads.

“We are proud of the progress we have made so far, and are committed to continuing to work in partnership with John West, other brands and our NGO partners to do everything we can to make high-quality, sustainable fish available for our customers,” it points out.

The initiative was welcomed by Greenpeace, hailing Tesco’s de-listing of a fifth of John West products “a huge victory for the movement for sustainable seafood,” The Mirror reported.

The group’s oceans campaigner Ariana Densham said: “For too long, the presence of John West’s unsustainable tuna, caught using destructive fishing practices which harm all kinds of marine life, has sat uneasily at the centre of that market.”

The campaigner added that hundreds of thousands of people are calling on John West and its owner Thai Union to clean up their act, and it’s a credit to Tesco that they have put their money where their mouth is and taken John West’s tuna products off the shelves.

Tesco’s announcement follows years of campaigning by Greenpeace and telly chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, which led to all major UK supermarkets committing to only selling sustainably-caught tuna in their own-brand products.

In order to achieve its ambition for 100 per cent of its seafood to be sourced sustainably, Tesco have a longstanding collaboration with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, and it has just joined efforts with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which contributed for the retailer to launch over 80 new MSC eco-labelled seafood lines.

The firm has also signed up to a major agreement between leading seafood retailers and suppliers that will protect the pristine areas of the Northern Barents Sea in the Arctic from the expansion of cod fisheries in the region.

Besides, since 2012 all its own-label tinned tuna sold in the UK has been fished using sustainable catch methods, a commitment extended to all tuna used as an ingredient in its own-brand sandwiches, pastas and salads.

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