Saving Seafood

Bumble Bee’s Chris Lischewski convicted of fixing prices of canned tuna

December 4, 2019 — Christopher Lischewski, the former president and CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, was convicted on 3 December, 2019, of helping to orchestrate a price-fixing conspiracy between Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist, the so-called “Big Three” players in the U.S. canned tuna sector.

Lischewski was found guilty of one count of price-fixing by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of USD 1 million (EUR 900,000). His sentencing has been set for 8 April, 2020. Lischewski’s conviction may also open him up as a target of civil lawsuits filed by parties who overpaid for canned tuna as a result of the price-fixing, according to Eric Snyder, chairman of the bankruptcy practice at Wilk Auslander, a New York City-based law firm.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Survival of StarKist cannery at the forefront of 180th Council Meeting

October 28, 2019 — “The long-term survivability of the cannery is a key motivation for the positions that we take” during “difficult negotiation” for fishing days at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

This is according to NOAA fisheries deputy assistant for regulatory programs, Samuel Rauch III, who served in the last two years as one of the commissioners for the US government on the WCPFC, during a news briefing with local reporters on Tuesday, following the opening of the 180th Meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council at the Gov. Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center.

In his remarks at the opening of the meeting, Lt. Gov. Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga pointed to the critical issue — that NOAA reconsider its decision to close off fishing by the US purse seiner fleet in the US-EEZ and on the high seas — referred to as Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) — for the rest of calendar year 2019, effective Oct. 9th.

Lemanu reminded the Council that the closure “will affect our fish cannery, and have a major negative economic impact on our tuna-dependent American Samoa.”

Read the full story at Samoa News

StarKist’s departure would leave a $200m hole in American Samoa’s economy

October 25, 2019 — If tuna canner StarKist & Co departs American Samoa for a location with cheaper labor costs as the company has previously warned, the impact on the US territory’s economy would be substantial.

The damages could reduce the gross domestic product of the 55,000-resident territory by some $200 million, according to a report from the territory’s Department of Commerce.

The report, presented at a recent meeting of the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, indicates that a closure of StarKist’s cannery, the island’s largest employer, would result in the loss of 4,000 direct and indirect jobs, one-fourth of its labor force.

The cannery is responsible for 80% of American Samoa’s exports and 24% of its imports. It “effectively” subsidizes the territory’s shipping costs by 40% and its fuel imports by around 30%, the report states.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

StarKist class-action suit payout less than expected

September 27, 2019 — Consumers who are part of a class-action lawsuit that Starkist agreed to settle in 2015 will get less than the tuna supplier originally agreed to pay.

The lawsuit, which claimed that StarKist was underfilling its five-ounce cans by a few tenths of an ounce, was settled out of court, with Starkist admitting no fault. As a result of the suit, residents of the United States who bought certain tuna products could obtain either USD 25.00 (EUR 22.84) in cash or USD 50.00 (EUR 45.68) worth of coupons for Starkist tuna.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

StarKist ordered to pay USD 100 million fine for role in tuna price-fixing

September 12, 2019 — StarKist & Company has been ordered to pay a criminal fine of USD 100 million (EUR 90.3 million) for its role in a tuna price-fixing conspiracy, the statutory maximum fine.

The decision, which was announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on 11 September, comes after the court and the company wrangled over the monetary amount of the fine. StarKist’s attorneys had been pushing to have the fine lowered to USD 50 million (EUR 45.1 million), calling the decision “life or death” for the company, while prosecutors had been pushing for a full fine based on the company’s recent investment in TechPack Solutions, an India-based can and bottle technology firm.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mom-focused seafood marketing campaign delivers healthy returns in US

May 30, 2019 — Soon after a U.S. pediatric doctors’ group said that children need to eat more seafood, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) delivered some hopeful news for the cause, confirming that its recent marketing campaign targeted at mothers was highly successful.

In partnership with seafood suppliers such as Starkist, Trident, Bumble Bee, and Verlasso, the coupon and digital campaign that ran for eight weeks during Lent generated a 300 percent return on investment, SNP said. The organization’s investment of USD 100,000 (EUR 90,000) produced approximately USD 300,000 (EUR 269,000) in sales growth, SNP President Linda Cornish told SeafoodSource.

Notably, sales of seafood in supermarkets in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the pilot campaign took place, rose 2.4 percent during the promotional period. Frozen finfish soared more than 11 percent, far outperforming national sales growth of less than 3 percent, according to SNP.

“We surveyed local moms and poured over a lot of data to really understand the audience. We found that Indy-area moms like seafood and they want to eat it more, but they didn’t think their families would eat it,” Cornish said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Restaurant, catering group nears settlement with Chicken of the Sea on price-fixing suit

May 28, 2019 — A group of restaurants and catering companies have reached a USD 6.5 million (EUR 5.8 million) agreement with San Diego, California, U.S.A.-based Chicken of the Sea and its parent company, Thai Union, to settle a lawsuit alleging price-fixing.

The lawsuit stems from a price-fixing scandal in the U.S. canned tuna market exposed by a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation in which Chicken of the Sea served as the whistleblower. The scandal led to prosecution of Chicken of the Sea’s primary co-conspirators, Bumble Bee Foods and StarKist. Both companies pleaded guilty to criminal charges in cases brought by the DOJ.

Chicken of the Sea’s potential settlement with the restaurants and catering companies, proposed Friday, 24 May, still must be approved by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Janis L. Sammartino, who has not yet formally certified the grouping of affected companies involved in the agreement as an official class in the lawsuit. The parties suing claim to represent companies that indirectly purchased packages of tuna in 40-ounce sizes or greater from DOT Foods, Sysco, US Foods, Sam’s Club, Walmart, or Costco from June 2011 through December 2016.

Parties in the so-called “commercial food preparers” class involved in the proposed settlement include Capitol Hill Supermarket, Janet Machen, Thyme Cafe & Market, Simon-Hindi LLC, LesGo Personal Chef, Maquoketa Care Center, A-1 Diner, Francis T. Enterprises d/b/a Erbert & Gerbert’s, Harvesters Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Harvester’s Seafood and Steakhouse, Dutch Village Restaurant, Painted Plate Catering, GlowFisch Hospitality d/b/a Five Loaves Cafe, Rushin Gold LLC d/b/a The Gold Rush, Erbert & Gerbert, Inc., Groucho’s Deli of Raleigh, Sandee’ s Catering, Groucho ‘s Deli of Five Points, and Confetti’s Ice Cream Shoppe.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US tuna companies face class-action lawsuits over “Dolphin-Safe” claims

May 15, 2019 — In the midst of dealing with numerous price-fixing lawsuits, Bumble Bee Foods, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist now face class-action complaints over the “Dolphin-Safe” claims on their tuna products.

While Lion Capital-owned Bumble Bee, Thai Union-owned Chicken of the Sea, and Downgon Industries-owned Starkist claim that their products are “Dolphin-Safe,” that is not the case, according to the racketeering and fraud complaints filed in United States District Court in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

The “Dolphin-Safe” label signifies that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured as a result of the catching of the tuna contained in their products. But the suppliers’ tuna fishing practices “kill or harm substantial numbers of dolphins each year,” the lawsuit against StarKist stated.

“And, because defendant does not adequately trace or otherwise identify the tuna that is not ‘Dolphin-Safe’ and physically segregate and store it separately from any tuna that may be ‘Dolphin-Safe,’ defendant may not label any of its products as ‘Dolphin-Safe,’” the StarKist complaint said.

While StarKist “does not comment on pending legal matters”, Michelle Faist, senior manager of corporate affairs for StarKist Co., told SeafoodSource, the supplier “will not purchase any tuna caught in association with dolphins.”

“StarKist Co. is committed to protecting the dolphins and was the first company to adopt a dolphin-safe policy in April 1990,” Faist said.

The policy states that: “StarKist will not purchase any tuna caught in association with dolphins. StarKist continues its practice of refusing to purchase tuna caught with gill or drift nets, which are known to be dangerous to many forms of marine life. StarKist condemns the use of these indiscriminate fishing methods that trap dolphins, whales, and other marine life along with the intended catch of fish.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

U.S. consumers sue Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, StarKist over ‘dolphin-safe’ tuna claims

May 14, 2019 — U.S. consumers sued Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist, accusing the country’s three major packaged-tuna brands of deceiving them into thinking their tuna is caught only through “dolphin-safe” fishing practices.

The proposed class actions filed on Monday said the defendants employ fishing techniques that kill or harm dolphins, and do not always use safer, costlier pole-and-line and other methods used by such rivals as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

The consumers said this makes the defendants’ dolphin-safe labels false and misleading, violating the laws of several U.S. states including California, Florida, New Jersey and New York.

They also said StarKist violated federal racketeering law through its alleged dealings with foreign fishing companies.

Concern about dolphin safety “makes tuna fish consumers no different from Hindus attributing zero value to beef products, or vegans attributing zero value to animal products, or vegetarians attributing zero value to meat, fish, and poultry,” the complaints said.

StarKist said it does not discuss pending litigation, but would not buy tuna “caught in association with dolphins.” It also condemned “indiscriminate fishing methods” that trap dolphins along with the intended catch.

Read the full story at Reuters

StarKist Fined by EPA For Failing to Comply With 2018 Settlement

April 19, 2019 — StarKist will have to pay $84,500 in penalties for violating the terms of a 2018 settlement, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The 2018 settlement was related to deficiencies in environmental compliance at StarKist’s tuna processing facility in American Samoa. StarKist initially paid a $6.5 million penalty to resolve the violations of federal environmental laws. The company had also agreed to make upgrades to reduce water pollution and the risk of releases of hazardous substances, in addition to providing American Samoa with $88,000 in emergency equipment for responding to chemical releases.

The EPA reports that StarKist violated the terms of the settlement on “multiple occasions” when they made unauthorized discharges from the facility to Pago Pago Harbor. A reported 80,000 gallons of wastewater was dumped into the inner harbor in one incident. The company also “violated the consent decree terms on 27 days when wastewater was routed around one of the required treatment measures to bypass a step in the wastewater treatment process.”

“EPA will continue to work closely with StarKist to ensure the needed safety and pollution control upgrades are realized, per our agreement,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “With our American Samoa EPA partners, we will protect Pago Pago Harbor and the marine environment of American Samoa.”

This story was republished with permission from SeafoodNews.com