Belize Signs On To the Tuna Transparency Pledge

The Tuna Transparency Pledge is an initiative led by the Nature Conservancy that is seeking to achieve one hundred percent on-the-water monitoring by 2027. Belize joined the Federated States of Micronesia, Walmart, Albertson companies, and Thai Union as one of the first signatories of the pledge. The endeavor was launched to combat unstainable and illegal practices in tuna fisheries by uniting key players across the seafood supply chain. We spoke with the Deputy Director of Belize High Seas Fisheries Unit, Robert Robinson, who explained the process in more detail.

 

Robert Robinson, Deputy Director, Belize High Seas Fisheries Unit

 “The pledge seeks to achieve one hundred percent underwater monitoring by all the signatories and by 2027.  And what this will do, all the signatories who will be at different levels in the supply chain will ensure that their tuna, is either coming from a source that is under covered by underwater monitoring or the governments will ensure that all vessels operating under their jurisdiction are covered by underwater monitoring. And by underwater monitoring, that means. either human observer or electronic monitoring means.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And how does that benefit to the production and acquisition of tuna?”

 

Robert Robinson

“Well, people across the world have been increasingly concerned about where their food is coming from specifically seafood. And what this helps to do is to bring full transparency to the tuna supply chain. So that consumers are comfortable and confident that their seafood was sustainably caught. There is a large black market where illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is concerned. And this industry represents somewhere around sixty billion dollars per year. Recent estimates indicate this figure. And what this pledge will, will help to do as more people sign on to it, it will bring full transparency to the tuna fishing industry and will help to eradicate IUU fishing. So it will be a big win for sustainability and for good stewardship for, for world’s marine resources.”