An Open Letter to Greenpeace Canada

February 4, 2011

An Open Letter to:

Sara King

“Oceans Campaigner” for Greenpeace Canada

1726 Commercial Drive,

Vancouver, British Columbia

V5N 4A3

Re: What’s Hiding Inside Your Tuna Can (November 24, 2010)

Dear Sarah:

I had the opportunity today to read your blog “What’s Hiding Inside Your Tuna Can” posted November 24, 2010.

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/whats-hiding-inside-your-tuna-can/blog/28396

An interesting article and it is always appreciated when an article such as yours is backed by a specific research paper. In this case “Fish Species Identification in Canned Products- Final Report, Miguel Angel Pardo, et al. AZTI, Technalia 2010,

While I applaud, what I believe to be the main gist of your article- the recommended banning of FAD’s (Fish aggregation devices) in fisheries, in general I believe you have done a disservice to the North American Tuna Fishing Industry, in particular the Canadian Albacore Tuna Fishing Fleet and Industry.

The article specifically mentions product from Canada, the fact that species are not listed on the can, and/or that the product in the can is not the same species as listed. Related to the research paper and your blog, I would also like to point out the following:

In no part of the report is there any reference to product purchased in Canada;

None of the products tested were “product of Canada” they were typically from Thailand, Philippines, Ecuador, etc. etc.;

Very few of the product tested was either North American albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) or “White Tuna” which is an acceptable common name for this species.

What was missing from the blog, in any case was the following:

None of the tuna caught in the eastern pacific by Canadian or US vessels are caught using nets (FADs).

Our fisheries utilize primarily Troll Gear, a methodology supported and endorsed by the SEAFOOD WATCH program (Monterey Bay Aquarium), OCEAN WISE program (Vancouver Aquarium), and the SEA CHOICE INITIATIVE (David Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club of Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans Society).

In addition the Troll albacore fisheries along the Pacific Coast of North America are certified by the international Marine Stewardship Council as sustainable and well managed fisheries.

While we will- and do support - your efforts to improve the sustainability of all fisheries, as well as labeling requirements, we encourage both you and your readers to further educate yourself on the positive strides made by our local fisheries to achieve and maintain sustainability in support of healthy oceans.

Respectfully submitted,

W. E. Lorne Clayton, RPBio.

Executive Director

Canadian Highly Migratory Species Foundation

chmsf@ieccorporate.com

http://www.canadianalbacoretuna.com