To mark World Tuna Day, Coles proudly announces that starting in September, all its Own Brand canned tuna will carry the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue fish tick label. This makes Coles the first Australian supermarket to commit to the MSC standard for sustainable fishing and seafood supply chain assurance across its entire canned tuna range.
Upon completion of this transition, over 45 popular Own Brand canned tuna products, including Coles Tuna Chunks, Pacific brand Yellowfin Tuna, and Wild Tides, will feature tuna sourced from MSC-certified fisheries. This ensures customers are purchasing wild seafood from well-managed and sustainable fisheries.
Charlotte Rhodes, Coles General Manager of Own Brand, Quality, and Responsible Sourcing, highlighted that sourcing tuna from MSC-certified fisheries adds significant value and confidence for customers. “By adding the MSC blue fish tick label to all Coles brand canned tuna, we are demonstrating our commitment to making sustainable choices more accessible and convenient for our customers,” Rhodes said.
“This milestone will position Coles as having the largest MSC-certified own brand seafood range in the country, and we are on track to become the first Australian supermarket to have its entire canned fish range third-party certified by leading global standards for sustainable seafood,” she added.
By the end of the year, the expanded MSC-certified tuna products will be available nationwide in Coles stores, bringing the total number of MSC-certified Own Brand products to 75. This includes the Coles Canned Pink Salmon range, Frozen Beer Battered Fish Fillets, and Thawed Australian Raw Banana Prawns.
Anne Gabriel, MSC Program Director for Oceania and Singapore, praised Coles for its commitment to sustainable sourcing. “We commend Coles for offering Australians affordable, MSC-certified sustainable canned tuna, especially at a time when global demand for tuna is rising, and pressure on tuna populations and ecosystems is increasing,” Gabriel said.
“By providing access to third-party verified sustainable tuna, Coles joins a global movement of brands supporting MSC-certified tuna fisheries, which represent over 40% of tuna fisheries worldwide,” she added.
This announcement follows Coles being awarded MSC Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket at the Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia. Coles received this accolade for demonstrating the most significant commitment to MSC-certified seafood among Australian retailers.
The MSC is an international non-profit organization dedicated to ending overfishing and restoring fish stocks for future generations. The MSC blue fish tick label indicates that a seafood product comes from a wild-catch fishery independently certified to the MSC’s science-based standard for sustainable fishing and has been kept separate throughout the supply chain.
