Thread by @TlustyM

There has been much action lately around #seafood #traceability, and last weekend I was eating #BlueHarborFishCo Albacore #Tuna - and noticed the claim on the can that they could track all the way back to the boat, and had a @MSCecolabel on the can. #fishery 1/n

I was interested if a company could really go all the way back to the boat, so I looked on the blueharborfishco.com web site for fishing boat information. Here it discussed @MSCecolabel and that the trace back is "to a certified sustainable source and #fishing practice" 2/n

I was getting suspicious - #seafood #traceability back to the boat? I thought I would check the @MSCecolabel web site for information about this #Tuna #fishery - only 1 MSC web page has the MSC-C-54143 code, and that is a 279 page report that mentions this code 1 time 3/n

The report is here: cert.msc.org/FileLoader/Fil… … and @MSCecolabel code MSC-C-54143 appears on page 77 - it is a chain of custody certificate to @StarKistCharlie #tuna #fishery. and this fishery is 14 boats (list on page 76). So this is not #traceable back of a #fishing vessel 4/n

So this is not #traceable back to a single boat, but rather, 14 boats. But, Blue Harbor is actually @StarKistCharlie - a fact that others (stjudetuna.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/be-…) have pointed out. So what does this tell us about #sustainable #seafood? 5/n

In #seafood #sustainability, as with any #ecolabel, companies can make all claims on their packaging. In this case, #BlueHarborFishCo said albacore #tuna was traceable back to the boat, when it is only to a #fishery "in the south pacific" 6/n

In my mind this is a case of over promise / under deliver #seafood #sustainability But since looking for fishing area brought me to their FAQ page, the processing information jumped out given they are proud to be packed in America 7/n

Notice that their @alaskaseafood pink salmon #salmon is processed in #Thailand. Yesterday, @DocFroehlich @jagephart @TrevorABranch wrote about seafood imports. Wild AK salmon - sent to Thailand (how?) and reimported to the US. Is this #sustainable #seafood? 8/n

so is US #seafood still #sustainable if we ship it around the world to save money on processing? But the bigger issue is #BlueHarborFishCo @StarKistCharlie - do you instill false confidence in consumers by claiming #tuna can be traced back to a boat when it can't? 9/End

I totally forgot to end on a positive note- to answer @ailumulia's Q- you can list vessel in #seafood #traceability scheme. @redsbest is local in Boston, and they have QR codes on all their product. So why say you trace to a boat but don't? Assume the customer wont look 10/END+1

Anyone in #seafood #traceability - the @MSCbluefish Chain of custody number on their #tuna can (MSC-C-54143) is the same as on their pink #salmon can. @StarKistCharlie should know better . #LabelFail

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