Chicken of the Sea's Unsustainable Secrets

by Taylor Leake · 2011-09-13 10:18:00 UTC
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Chicken of the Sea, one of the largest canned tuna brands in the U.S., sports a happy, smiling mermaid as its logo. But if mermaids were real and living in the ocean, they certainly wouldn't be happy with Chicken of the Sea.

The seafood company uses a number of disastrous methods to catch its tuna, putting entire ocean ecosystems at risk. Greenpeace started a petition here on Change.org demanding that Chicken of the Sea stop its unsustainable and destructive practices.

There are a few specific fishing methods Greenpeace wants Chicken of the Sea to stop. First, the non-profit wants the company to stop using "fish aggregating devices" (FADs), which are essentially objects floating in the open sea. They are designed to catch skipjack tuna, but a variety of fish and other animals flock to these FADs  for shade and protection. When fishing boats scoop up the catch, they get a tremendous amount of bycatch, including sharks, rays, and juvenile yellowfin and bigeye tuna, all of which are in real trouble. FADs increase bycatch by 500 to 1,000 percent when compared to nets set on free-swimming schools of skipjack tuna.

Chicken of the Sea also needs to stop using the longline method of fishing albacore tuna. Longline fishing is a sometimes miles-long line stretched between two buoys, with many baited hooks hanging off of it. Like FADs, longlines catch much more than the intended tuna. Turtles get stuck on the hooks, and so do sea birds that dive after the shiny metal hooks that resemble fish. The bycatch rate of longline fishing is estimated at 30 percent, making it a terribly destructive tactic.

Greenpeace also wants Chicken of the Sea to stop fishing in "high seas pockets," areas of ocean outside any country's jurisdiction where companies have no regulations or quotas. Overfishing in these regions hurts fish populations, but it's also bad for small countries where tuna fishing is an important part of the economy.

It is time for Chicken of the Sea to stop these unsustainable and damaging practices. Sign Greenpeace's petition, and tell Chicken of the Sea's CEO that the company can no longer ignore consumers or the destruction its fishing methods cause.

Photo Credit: brownpau via Flickr

Taylor Leake is a foodie and activist. He's previously worked for Food and Water Watch and Wake Up Walmart.

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