As an independent group of retailers and supply chain companies, we are on a mission to transform global tuna fisheries through the implementation of innovative and sustainable solutions that protect marine ecosystems and enhance the livelihoods of all stakeholders involved.
As the voice of the tuna market, the Global Tuna Alliance exists to hold decision-makers accountable to businesses, their customers and all those whose livelihoods depend on a sustainable tuna industry. Find out more about us.
GTA Partners feel empowered by collaborating and advocating as part of a larger association and enjoy the access partnership provides to exclusive resources and training. But don’t just take our word for it. See what our Partners have to say.
Some of the GTA’s most important work involves engaging with the delegations who comprise four of the five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (tRFMOs), the bodies responsible for managing tuna fishing practices.
Through a mix of powerful social media campaigns, roundtables, compelling press statements and creative public advertising, we work tirelessly to ensure the voice of the market is heard.
GTA Partners are an inclusive constituency of pre-competitive supply-chain companies and retailers with a major interest in improving the sustainability of the tuna sector, and are actively committed to supporting GTA campaigns. We recruit Partners from across the supply chain, including food services, retailers, brand manufacturers, processors, and suppliers.
Interested in coming aboard? Find out more about the benefits of joining and take your first steps to partnership.
The Western-Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is the management organisation responsible for managing tuna stocks in the Western-Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The WCPFC has a unique and prized status among all other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). Not only is it the region where the highest amount of tuna is fished, making it a hugely important source of food for millions, it is also the only region where all major stocks of tuna are not overfished or subject to overfishing.
Last year’s advocacy campaign ahead of the 18th full session of the WCPFC focused on the campaign tagline “Don’t lose the label,” reflecting the fact that many tuna fisheries in the WCPFC that are MSC certified may have their certification at risk unless harvest strategies were adopted by December 2022. This was a consumer-facing campaign, taking advantage of the influence that the blue MSC label has as a recognisable mark of sustainability in driving consumer behaviour.
This year’s campaign was more delegate-focused. We wanted to play on the pride felt by WCPFC delegates about the healthy statuses of their stocks by producing a campaign graphic that showed the tarnishing of this reputation if delegates failed to implement harvest strategies and prevent overfishing. We used a bar chart that’s very recognisable to delegates showing stock statuses across each RFMO and the WCPFC’s bar being coloured over by a billboard painter in red as a consequence of them failing to adopt harvest strategies. This sits next to the campaign message: Implement harvest strategies, prevent overfishing and keep your stocks ‘in the green.’ and a message that says your commercial credibility as a sustainable place to do business will be damaged unless you act.
We took advantage of the return of “in-person” RFMO meetings by sending our Director, Dr. Tom Pickerell to Da Nang, Vietnam where the 19th full session of the Western-Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting was taking place. He went armed with GTA-branded fortune cookies, postcards, and a print-out of our position statement.
Fortune Cookies
Our fortune cookies, which were placed next to every seat at the meeting, contained messages combining old proverbs with a tuna twist, encouraging the delegates to accelerate the implementation of harvest strategies, for example: “To reach your targets, first you must set them. Agree a revised workplan for setting target reference points for yellowfin and bigeye in 2023.” While it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, it was an interesting way of delivering the market’s message. They also went down swimmingly, with one attendee at the conference remarking on Twitter: “Bravo GTA, you have won first prize for my favourite ever RFMO delegate gift. Inspired!”
Postcards and print-outs
We also distributed Postcards featuring our hero graphic on one side and blurb on the reverse, this was a bite-sized way of getting the take-home message to WCPFC delegates. We also printed our 8-page position statement for a more detailed look at exactly what changes the market wants to see and why.
NGO Tuna Forum side-event
The NGO Tuna Forum and Global Tuna Alliance hosted a side-event during the week-long meeting. This was an opportunity for delegates to come along and hear from GTA Partners and others. As well as having all of the above materials, the side-event also featured a short video with written and spoken quotes from GTA Partners, and in-person speeches from GTA Director Dr. Tom Pickerell and Ruth Hoban, Head of Sustainability at New England Seafood.
