Saving Seafood

Find that fish: Chicken of the Sea launches traceability initiative

September 14, 2016 — Chicken of the Sea’s owner, Thai Union, has been at the center of controversy lately, particularly following reports of ongoing slavery and trafficking in the Thai fishing industry. Investigations from The New York Times, Associated Press and Guardian linked many of these human rights abuses to Thai Union and Chicken of the Sea, according to a Greenpeace report.

Chicken of the Sea’s traceability efforts are a start on its path to increased transparency and sustainability throughout its supply chain. But knowing where a fish was caught or how it was processed doesn’t necessarily solve human rights abuses occurring on the other side of the world.

Increasing numbers of consumers consider a company’s labor practices in their brand purchase decisions. Consumers today demand transparency, ranging from ingredients to fair labor practices. Manufacturers that embrace consumers’ hunger for transparency can achieve better whole chain visibility and traceability.

That effort offers more information about ingredients, suppliers, processing and other company practices that the brand can then share with consumers. Transparency can also help foster brand loyalty among the vast majority of consumers and convince others to pay more for completely transparent products, according to a recent study from Label Insight.

Read the full story from Food Dive

U.S. Tuna Industry Objects To New Proposed Labeling

April 29, 2016 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Tri Marine International, whose local operations include a tuna cannery, and National Fisheries Institute (NFI) both contend that the new interim final rule by the federal government on dolphin safety labeling is due to a recent sanction of the US by the World Trade Organization in a long standing case which pits the US against its neighbor, Mexico. They say it is an unfair and unproductive burden to U.S. seafood companies that does not resolve the protracted WTO litigation, nor improve on the existing dolphin-safe operational performance.

Industry officials told Samoa News that the new interim final rule (or IFR) will only increase operational costs for the US tuna canneries, who are already faced with stiff global competition, and that the US canneries have been adhering to dolphin safe labeling standards set by the federal government for many years.

This was echoed by NFI president, John P. Connelly in an Apr. 22 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), who is seeking public comment on the IFR for “enhanced document requirements and captain training requirements to support use of the dolphin safe label on tuna products.”

“Consumers purchasing canned and pouched tuna from Bumble Bee Foods, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist should be confident that the ‘dolphin-safe’ label the retail packaging bears means just that,” Connelly wrote.

The three canneries are the major US producers of tuna products.

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report

THAI UNION SUSPENDS PUBLIC OFFERING FOLLOWING SUBPOENA FROM U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

SEAFOODNEWS.COM — July 23, 2015 — Thai Union suspended their public offering late yesterday in the wake of a subpoena from the Department of Justice to Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, a subsidiary of the tuna giant operating in the United States under the brand Chicken of the Sea. They were asked to provide information to the DOJ’s antitrust division, related to their investigation of the packaged seafood industry.

The preferred public offering was intended to raise funds to finance Thai Union’s $1.5 billion purchase of Bumble Bee Seafoods. 

Thai Union has no comment on the DOJ investigation, other than to say that Chicken of the Sea is cooperating fully with the investigation. Chicken of the Sea continues to operate its business as usual.

In a press release issued last night, Thai Union’s Board of Directors said it “believes it is prudent to await additional clarity on this investigation before proceeding with Thai Union’s Preferential Public Offering announced on July 17, 2015. We have informed the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the temporary suspension of Thai Union’s Preferential Public Offering.”

The Company may decide to resume the Preferential Public Offering after further consideration of the situation and consultation with legal advisor. Investors who have completed their subscriptions to date will have their monies returned as soon as practicable within the specified period.

Shares of Thai Union Frozen Products fell as much as 8 percent to 18.4 baht late yesterday, the lowest since October 30, 2014.

Former Chicken of the Sea owners are latest foreign investors in US fishing

June 29, 2015 — Indonesian business family the Soetantyos are set to become the latest foreign investors in US fishing and seafood, with the acquisition of Icicle Seafoods.

The Soetantyos, whose former holding company PT Management Trust (Mantrust) owned US shelf stable seafood brand Chicken of the Sea until 1993, were reportedly also involved in the recent sales process of Bumble Bee Foods, sources told Undercurrent News.

Icicle’s impending sale to Indonesian investors the Soetantyos, in a deal expected to complete in August 2015, comes amid a high level of interest in the US fishing sector from foreigners. In April, Swiss-owned fund Bregal Partners’ closed a deal Virginia-based scallop fishing company Peabody Corp., after Undercurrent reported the talks in February.

On May 11, Undercurrent broke Oceana Group’s interest in a deal for Daybrook Fisheries, a US menhaden catching firm. On May 19, Oceana confirmed the $382.3 million deal.

Then, Canada’s Cooke family, who control Cooke Aquaculture, closed a deal for US-based scallop catcher Wanchese Fish Company on June 5. Undercurrent first reported Cooke’s interest in Wanchese, which also controls vessels in Argentina, in November 2014.

Also, Kjell Inge Rokke, the Norwegian billionaire, is also being linked to an investment return to the highly leveraged American Seafoods Group, which he created.

Then, in a revelation that surprised some, Undercurrent reported on June 17 that the Soetantyos were the frontrunner in the sale process of Icicle, after interest from other foreign seafood companies and investors, such as Thai Union Frozen Products, Cooke, Mitsubishi and Marine Harvest.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News