People in Exeter, Plymouth and Barnstaple have exposed local Tesco stores that are selling the controversial brand of tuna singled out for heavy criticism by Greenpeace and by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Fish Fight programme watched by millions on Sunday on Channel 4.
As part of a nationwide hunt for tins of Oriental & Pacific across the UK, a brand of tuna dubbed as one of the 'dirtiest on supermarket shelves' by Greenpeace, people from Devon took part in the Greenpeace investigation. They discovered local stores to be stocking the tuna which is caught using fishing methods that can kill sharks, rays and turtles.
Greenpeace claimed the brand was "dirty" because tuna in it was caught in big nets, known as purse seines, that could kill sea creatures.
The supermarket is singled out for criticism from both Greenpeace and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, for re-introducing unsustainable tuna on to its shelves after a successful public campaign to remove 'dirty' tuna from supermarkets in the UK in 2011. Campaigners see this move as undermining their public promise to clean up their act.
Greenpeace has released a league table of the 10 major tuna brands in which Tesco are at the bottom of the leading supermarkets. Oriental & Pacific comes last in the league table overall because it's the most unsustainable tuna available to consumers in the survey.
Tesco said Greenpeace was "simply wrong" and the manufacturer said it "totally refutes" the claims.
Tesco said it had moved much faster than many of its competitors to make sure its own-brand tuna was 100% caught using a pole and line, which avoids catching other species by accident.
It said it had also promised to use sustainable tuna in other products such as pastas, sandwiches and salads.
A spokesman said: "Many of our competitors continue to sell non-pole and line caught tuna. Customers have a great choice of sustainable tuna at Tesco."
LDH, which owns the Oriental and Pacific (O&P) tuna brand, supplies a range of products including canned tomatoes, fish, fruit and vegetables, and dried pasta.
In a statement, the company said: "At least 85% of the tuna we sell is fished using the pole and line method; our O&P brand skipjack tuna is caught using the purse seine fishing method, which accounts for 63% of all tuna caught around the globe.
"Credible scientific research by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations shows that stocks of skipjack tuna are healthy.
"All of our tuna suppliers are members of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation and support its research-led initiatives for long-term conservation of tuna stocks."
Ariana Densham, Greenpeace UK Oceans Campaigner said:
"Tesco is at the bottom of the pile of supermarkets because as soon as they achieved their bold promise to use 100 per cent pole and line tuna in their own-brand tins, they immediately started refilling their shelves with 'dirty' tuna that is caught in a way that can kill turtles, sharks and rays. Oriental & Pacific is 100 per cent dodgy with zero per cent effort to clean up their act. This is pure hypocrisy from Tesco - the supermarket that promised to be totally up front about where the food that they sell us comes from is now rolling back their pledge to protect the oceans."
Greenpeace praise Sainsbury's as a 'Top Tuna Supermarket' for having remained at the forefront of tuna sustainability for many years. Nearly three quarters of all the tinned tuna Sainsbury's sells is sustainable which is more than any other retailer.
Ariana Densham continued:
"Sainsbury's, remains a market leader on tuna sustainability. For many years, their tuna has been 100% pole and line which is great news for sharks, turtles and rays. If Tesco wants to catch up with the front runners and win back consumer confidence, they must take this dirty tuna off their shelves today."
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said:
"The Fish Fight and Greenpeace tuna campaign has been a huge success - our supermarkets and big tuna brands all told us they didn't want their names on unsustainable tuna, but a number of them are finding new ways to keep 'dirty' tuna on the shelves. Tesco made one of the biggest commitments of all to sell the most sustainable tuna, but as our new Fish Fight programme shows, they now stock a new brand called Oriental and Pacific, which is caught using methods that accidentally catch and kill endangered animals like turtles, rays and sharks.
"There's no information on Oriental and Pacific tins to tell shoppers how the tuna was caught. If they really care about our oceans then Tesco should take this tuna off the shelves today, and other supermarkets must follow suit."
