19 Jul 2011

PNA close to tuna eco-label

7:01 pm on 19 July 2011

The Parties to the Nauru Agreement, the PNA, are close to gaining a globally recognised eco-label for sustainable harvested tuna.

The PNA includes the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu which banded together to ensure a better return and that their waters were not overfished.

Its spokesperson Anouk Ride says a detailed assessment of free school skipjack tuna in PNA waters has recommended to the Marine Stewardship Council that it be given the prized eco-label.

She says it allows consumers to make informed decisions about the origin of the tuna they buy.

"Most of the time when you go to the supermarket there is very little information about where their tuna is from and whether it's caught sustainably, but consumers, particularly in Europe and the UK are quite aware of the Marine Stewardship Council label and if they see that on a can of tuna they can feel confident they are buying sustainable tuna from the Pacific region."