To mark ‘World Ocean Day’ on the eve of the first day of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), performers from Ocean Rebellion ripped open a giant can of Petit Navire tuna outside a Monoprix supermarket to highlight the combined threats industrial tuna fisheries pose to both human life and marine biodiversity including juvenile yellowfin tuna, sharks, turtles and cetaceans.

A ‘dead sailor’ was revealed in the giant tuna can, whilst nearby a sailor sang an ironic version of the popular French song ‘Il Était un Petit Navire’ as smartly dressed Ocean Rebellion performers wearing realistic yellowfin tuna heads stared into space confusing and enchanting passersby and early morning commuters.

The Ocean Rebellion performers were joined by two French lawmakers from 'La France insoumise'; Emma Fourreau, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in Brussels and Pierre-Yves Caladen, French National Assembly Member for Brest.

For years, European tuna brands like Petit Navire, owned and operated by global tuna giant Thai Union, have sold their dirty tuna as ‘sustainable’ by using the Blue Tick mark of “trusted” brand, the Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC. In recent years however, evidence has emerged of significant cases of forced labour in MSC fisheries. Yet, the MSC does not care. They casually wash their hands of this problem by saying that their “main mission is environmental” and that their “ecolabel does not make claims about social conditions”. In effect the MSC are saying “Hey, we think it’s no problem that the can of Petit Navire tuna sold to you by Monoprix is certified by us as sustainable – EVEN IF IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY A CHILD SLAVE!”

Clearly, the Marine Stewardship Council does not care about human rights or the risk of modern-day child slavery in fisheries. And neither do supermarket brands like Monoprix, nor tuna brands like Petit Navire. If they did, they wouldn’t be selling it.

Chris Williams, ITF Fisheries Section Coordinator, International Transport Workers’ Federation, said,

“The MSC label is failing to protect fishers from forced labour and abuse, allowing seafood produced under exploitative conditions to enter global markets unchecked. MSC must take responsibility and publicly step away from any social or labour claims associated with the blue tick”.

Alex Hofford, Marine Wildlife Campaigner, Shark Guardian, said,

“It’s incredible to think that when you buy a can of tuna in Monoprix that not only could it have caused the death of thousands of sharks, but it might also have been caught by a slave. This shocking scandal is being enabled by the MSC and retailers like Monoprix. Delegates to UNOC must wake up to this blue-washing chaos immediately!”

French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Emma Fourreau, said,

“The ocean today is the scene of invisible and hidden tragedies. Among them is modern slavery on industrial fishing vessels. European companies like Petit Navire are complicit by selling fish produced by forced labor. The MSC label and Monoprix must stop supporting this anti-social bluewashing. On the eve of the United Nations Ocean Conference, it is high time to remind everyone that human rights also apply at sea.“

Pauline Bricault, Campaign manager at BLOOM said

“Supermarket chains can no longer stay oblivious to the destructiveness of the tuna industry. Their so-called ‘sustainable’ tuna sourcing policies still largely allow destructive fishing practices, which have contributed to the mass decline of tuna populations and shark abundance. Supermarkets also fail to protect human rights, as they rely on policies and labels that do not verify working conditions on board vessels, even though 42% of human rights violations in the global fishing industry occur on tuna fishing vessels. Lastly, tuna is systematically contaminated with mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that is extremely dangerous to human health, even at low doses, and supermarkets should put policies in place to protect consumers’ health.”

Ocean Rebellion is calling on:-

– The MSC to strike off vessels caught abusing crew from its certified vessel list and to include social and labour rights in its so-called ‘MSC Fisheries Standard’, the yardstick by which the so-called sustainability of tuna fisheries are measured.

– Global tuna giant Thai Union to stop sourcing industrially caught tuna from fisheries involved in forced or child labour and other human rights abuses. It is estimated that one in five cans of tuna in circulation globally emanate from a Thai Union cannery, including Petit Navire.

– Supermarket brands across the world, including Monoprix in France, to stop selling tuna that might have been caught by fishers caught up in modern day slavery. European supermarket chains must also sign up to the Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea, and the the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) action CA23103 on 'Life, liberty and health: ensuring universal protection of human rights at sea (BlueRights)', initiatives designed to bolster the protection of human rights in the fisheries sector.

And finally, Ocean Rebellion is calling on all delegates and policy makers attending UNOC in Nice this week to recognise and take action to protect human rights abuses and modern-day slavery in industrial tuna fisheries in whatever capacity they can.