Thai Union joins Ocean Disclosure Project

Thai Union has announced its participation in the Ocean Disclosure Project, a global initiative where seafood businesses publicly share details on the sourcing of their seafood.

In a statement, Thai Union said its involvement is part of its efforts to realize its global sustainability strategy, SeaChange, as well as traceability and transparency commitments in its business operations.

As a participant of the project, Thai Union will make public its global supply chain data from the company’s operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Stakeholders with access to the data will find details for wild-caught and farmed seafood, and other information comprising areas where seafood are caught and produced, fishing gear used in fishing, as well as sustainability certifications and ratings.

“At Thai Union, we believe the transparency and traceability of sourcing is critical to making improvements across the global seafood industry,” Thai Union Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Darian McBain said. “Through the Ocean Disclosure Project, stakeholders can gain a better understanding of ‘where’ the fish is sourced from, which then allows action to be taken to prevent Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, labor and human rights violations, social risks, and marine ecosystem impacts.”

The Ocean Disclosure Project was formed in 2015 by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The platform is where seafood retailers, suppliers and fish feed manufacturers voluntarily share their wild-caught seafood sourcing information, which later also includes disclosure of farmed seafood sourcing data. The initiative currently has more than 30 members from Europe, North America, and Australia.

Thai Union said it has made various actions to support its supply chain transparency commitment, including collaborating with the WWF to publish the Sourcing Transparency: Wild-Caught Fish and Shellfish report in 2018 for European supply chains; adding species in the Seafood Sourcing Locations map published in the 2019 Sustainability Report; jointly establishing SeaBOS to enhance traceability and transparency in the seafood industry; being a signatory of the World Economic Forum’s Tuna Traceability Declaration with the aim to prevent Illegal Unreported and Unregulated tuna from entering supply chains; among others.

On the occasion of the World Tuna Day on 2 May, Thai Union reaffirmed its target for fully sustainably-sourced tuna in its supply chain.

Photo courtesy of Thai Union