To promote sustainable fishing

Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood conglomerates, said on Tuesday that it would overhaul its fishing practices to protect against labour abuses and unsustainable trawling, a move hailed by Greenpeace as “huge progress”.

The Thai food giant — which owns major global brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West and Petit Navire — has long been a bete noire to those campaigning against overfishing and abusive working conditions on boats.

But on Tuesday it released a joint statement with Greenpeace announcing a series of reforms.

“Now is the time for other companies to step up,” said Greenpeace International Executive Director Bunny McDiarmid.

Thai Union will reduce the number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) it uses and cut down on longline fishing. FADs, which float on the surface to attract fish, and longlines are effective ways of catching large hauls of fish like tuna.

But they often result in reams of other animals being caught, including endangered sharks and turtles.