LISTEN: Greenpeace Protest In Liverpool
A giant tuna tin has been placed outside the John West HQ in Liverpool by Greenpeace campaigners protesting their fishing methods.
A giant tuna tin has been placed outside the John West HQ in Liverpool by Greenpeace campaigners protesting their fishing methods.
Louise Edge, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:
‘Looking out of their office window here in Liverpool today, John West’s management will be unable to ignore the harm they’re causing to our oceans and their owner’s links to human rights abuses. And many of their staff, just like the British public, will be rightly concerned that John West is a company which doesn’t keep its promises – and that it doesn’t think twice about catching and killing sharks and turtles if it means they save a few quid.
‘John West claims to tell its customers “the story behind every can”. Well sitting on their doorstep is a macabre monster of a tuna can which has many stories to tell: stories like John West’s continuing environmental destruction which is killing threatened marine life''
We contacted John West for a statement and they replied, saying;
John West stands by its Sustainability Promise 100% to ensure sustainably sourced fish: not endangered or threatened; caught by a well-managed fishery with scientifically based quotas, via responsible fishing methods; and traceable from catch to consumer.
It is just as committed to the protection of the marine environment and to sustainable sourcing as it was the day it established the promise in 2011. The only thing that has changed is the methodology it employs to achieve that promise. In October 2014, John West signed a landmark agreement with WWF, committing the company to a four-year partnership programme.
The partnership will continue to improve the sustainability of John West’s seafood supply chains and support WWF’s work with coastal fishing communities in East Africa. John West was the first European seafood company to sign up to WWF’s Sustainable Seafood Charter outlining its commitments towards the improvement of sustainable fisheries management and responsible aquaculture production.
The partnership will allow John West to achieve its Sustainability Promise by ensuring that all its seafood will be either credibly MSC certified or from a fishery involved in improvement or conservation projects aimed at bringing their sustainability status up to MSC/ASC standards for potential certification. MSC is recognised across the entire industry as being the best guarantee of the highest levels of sustainability.
Our reporter Shiona McCallum went down to Liverpool Docks to find out more: