Global Tuna Alliance

Global Tuna Alliance’s Mission: 

To build a shared, global, and non-competitive solution to sustainability issues in the global tuna supply chain.

Grant Project Goal(s):

To establish a close partnership on the ground in Japan to foster trust and ultimately encourage partnership from Japanese countries into the GTA. This includes securing the membership of three Japanese companies within twelve months, and demonstrating their engagement with the Japanese Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) delegations in calling for implementation of harvest strategies.

Background:

Japan is renowned for its tuna fishing industry. Prior to receiving support from Sea Pact, organizing face-to-face meetings with Japanese retailers and traders was challenging, due to the GTA’s limited resources. However, these meetings were crucial to establish trust and effectively engage with them.

The benefits of this project will include supply chain representation in Japan, access to Japanese tuna RFMO delegation, and greater alignment of the global supply chain on tuna sustainability priorities.

Immediate Objective(s):

To hire an outreach officer in Japan who will work closely with Seafood Legacy to expand industry engagement on tuna sustainability issues in this important and influential marketplace.

Key Learnings:

The Japanese sector is now discussing GTA, following a successful meeting where we shared our supply chain experiences in promoting positive change for tuna. As a result, we have noticed a significant increase in engagement from the sector regarding our tuna sustainability initiative.

Moving forward, recognizing cultural differences, accepting them, and respecting them is crucial when working in Japan. It is essential for us to honor that and engage meaningfully. Although the journey may be slower, it will go further in the long run with such a solid foundation.

Learn more at Global Tuna Alliance