Three of American Samoa's Tuna brands have been ranked the worst performers in the US Tuna market in a first-ever ranking report by Greenpeace.
Yellowfin tuna inside a purse seine net Photo: Supplied / SPC
The country's big three brands StarKist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea represent a combined 80 percent of the US tuna market.
The report looked at 14 well-known US national and private label supermarket brands and concluded that most do not have adequate measures in place to address both sustainability and the human welfare and labour issues that plague the industry.
It also evaluated the sourcing policies and practices of the 14 brands, including whether the fishing method used to catch their tuna harms other marine life, whether they avoid shark finning, and whether they can trace their products back to the sea.
StarKist Company, which operates StarKist Samoa in Pago Pago, says the company will not make statement, but referred to a National Fisheries Institute statement, which calls the Greenpeace ranking "baseless".
Starkist says Greenpeace has refused to join the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation's ongoing dialogue about tuna sustainability.
