Carrefour joins global push for tuna transparency in supply chains

Carrefour, one of Europe’s largest retailers, has officially joined the Tuna Transparency Pledge, marking a significant step forward in the global seafood industry’s fight against illegal and unsustainable fishing.

The French retail giant joins a growing coalition of seafood companies, retailers and governments committed to achieving 100 percent on-the-water monitoring across all industrial tuna fishing vessels in their supply chains by 2027. Other new signatories to the pledge include Aramark, Culimer USA, Lusamerica Foods, Pacific Island Tuna and the Association of Large Freezer Tuna Vessels (AGAC).

Launched in April 2024 and spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Tuna Transparency Pledge is gaining traction as companies face growing pressure to demonstrate that their seafood products are sourced legally, sustainably and in line with ethical labour standards.

Why tuna transparency matters

Tuna is one of the world’s most valuable seafood commodities, with more than seven million tonnes harvested each year and a dockside value of approximately $10 billion USD. However, much of the tuna supply chain remains obscured from public and regulatory scrutiny. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, coupled with low levels of observer coverage on vessels, poses serious risks to ocean health, marine wildlife and labour rights.

Currently, industrial fishing covers more than half of the ocean’s surface, yet 90 percent of global fisheries have already reached their maximum sustainable limits. With seafood demand expected to rise sharply to meet the protein needs of nearly 10 billion people by 2050, the urgency for robust transparency measures has never been greater.

Carrefour’s commitment to sustainable tuna

For Carrefour, the Tuna Transparency Pledge builds on its existing commitments to seafood sustainability.

Carine Kraus, Chief Impact Officer at Carrefour said: “Tuna plays an important role in our offer, as one of our most popular seafood products. However, tuna supply chains bear human risk and biodiversity challenges that we must address.

“To transform this market, we must together adopt sustainable practices toward this resource, which is today affected by overfishing. To this end, Carrefour joined last year The Global Tuna Alliance to strengthen the sustainability of its tuna supplies along its supply chain. Today, we want to go further in tuna preservation and are proud to be part of The Tuna Transparency Pledge, which enables us to lead global actions.”

How the pledge works

The Tuna Transparency Pledge aims to ensure that all industrial tuna fishing vessels operating within signatories’ supply chains or national waters have independent, verified monitoring systems in place — either through electronic monitoring (EM) with onboard cameras, GPS and sensors, or through human observers.

“Without transparency at sea, illegally and unsustainably caught fish will continue entering the supply chain undetected,” explained Ben Gilmer, Large-Scale Fisheries Director at TNC.

“On-the-water monitoring is ready to scale today and helps ensure that the seafood on our plates has been harvested in compliance with fishery laws and social standards. We applaud the new signatories of the Tuna Transparency Pledge for helping to build this critical market momentum to support ocean wildlife protection and a lasting seafood supply.”

Building momentum for industry-wide change

Carrefour and the other new signatories join founding pledge members including Walmart, Albertsons Companies, Thai Union, and the governments of Belize and the Federated States of Micronesia. Collectively, the pledge’s signatories represent some of the largest seafood buyers and suppliers in the world, sending a clear message to the global tuna industry that transparency is no longer optional.

“Electronic monitoring presents an incredible opportunity to scale observer coverage and increase data collection and monitoring onboard tuna vessels,” said Katheryn Novak, Biodiversity & Nature Director of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.

“Longline tuna fisheries in particular interact with some of the most vulnerable species of marine wildlife, yet have the lowest levels of observer coverage and monitoring. Companies taking the Pledge and working with their supply chains to increase monitoring can help reduce bycatch of seabirds and sharks, and ensure compliance with regulations, social and labour safeguards, and corporate requirements and standards.”

The Nature Conservancy is now encouraging other major retailers, seafood buyers and governments to sign on and help create a level playing field for responsible fishers. By using their purchasing power, companies can drive faster innovation in monitoring technology and ensure that consumers can trust the sustainability of the tuna they buy.

Organisations interested in joining the pledge should email [email protected].