Our Partnership with WWF

1. More sustainable sourcing:

We are committed to reach by 2024 100% tuna sourcing from MSC-certified fisheries or credible and comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs). In the period January-December 2023, we have achieved the important result of 93.7% of our tuna from these sourcing.

The partnership has set even higher sustainable fishing standards with respect to sourcing raw materials. By following these criteria, the company commits not to source from overfished stocks or those at risk of overfishing, to give preference to fisheries that are effectively managed to prevent impacts on other species and habitats, ensuring compliance with applicable fisheries laws and regulations and the full respect of human rights. In line with this approach, in 2023, 87.3% of the tuna purchased by Bolton Food was sourced from sustainable fisheries.

In 2023, Bolton Food has participated in an awareness campaign launched by WWF, GTA (Global Tuna Alliance) and TUPA (Tuna Protection Alliance) on the critical status of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean whose stock has long been overfished. Bolton Food is committed to reduce by 2025 its supply of Yellowfin from the Indian Ocean by 30% (compared to 2020 volumes). In fact, according to the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the intergovernmental organization responsible for the management of tuna and related species in the region, to ensure the conservation and appropriate use of fish stocks and encourage sustainable fisheries development, a 30% reduction in yellowfin tuna catch (compared to 2020 catch) would imply a 67% chance of allowing the stock to return to health by 2030 (about two generations). The company has been working in this direction, and in 2023 sourcing of yellowfin tuna from this area decreased more than 67% compared to 2020 levels.

Similar commitments have also been made for other species (Mackerel, Sardines, Salmon).

2. Advocacy and Policy change:

To move the whole sector towards sustainability and generate positive change across global supply chains, we are advocating, together with WWF, for more responsible fisheries management at Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Advocacy objectives also cover other aspects such as traceability, transparency, and conservation of the marine environment.

3. Traceability and Transparency:

Traceability is an essential tool to support transparent information gathering and analysis.

In 2015, we were the first Italian company and among the first in the world to obtain international ISO 22005 certification (Traceability system in the feed-food chain) for our traceability system from DNV-GL. With the desire to enhance consumer communication and transparency, we have created a new online real time traceability tool. The information provided includes the tuna species, fishing method used, the ocean and FAO area of origin, the name of the vessel and the production plant for each Rio Mare and Saupiquet Tuna product in the market. Consumers can connect and enter the code found on the product to obtain all the relevant information, all certified by a third party.

In addition, as part of our commitment with WWF and, in particular, our tracking and transparency commitments, we decided to publish real-time tracking information of our owned fishing boats. The map originated from Global Fishing Watch, a technology-based initiative aimed at publishing information and providing analysis on activities at sea. Data from fishing vessels is analyzed by an independent data analyst.

Furthermore, every year, we publish a comprehensive list of all our supplying vessels.

In October 2022, we became a founding member of the new Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), refunded as a permanent, independent, industry-driven organization. The objective of the GDST is to support the alignment of voluntary business practices for achieving interoperable traceability within the seafood sector and, to this end, it has developed a set of Standards and Guidelines for Interoperable Seafood Traceability Systems. Our representatives have actively participated and provided input to the initiative by sharing the data of our traceability and identifying future opportunities.

4. Social and Labour Rights:

Our company is working in partnership with Oxfam to develop new social sustainability standards in the fisheries sector to ensure a fairer and more equitable supply chain that guarantees respect for human rights, inclusion, gender equality and safe working conditions for the people involved. We are committed to strengthening our human rights policies and assessing risks in our supply chains.

5. Awareness and Education:

The partnership also aims to raise awareness among consumers and other market stakeholders about the need to source and consume sustainable seafood. By educating consumers on the role of oceans and their ecosystems, the aim is to increase the perceived value of tuna and engage them in taking action to safeguard our seas proactively.

The campaign “Together for the Oceans” was first launched in 2018 and now active in 11 countries. The partners continued to communicate their efforts and commitments through the cartoon character Ondina, to educate and raise awareness on the sustainability issues faced by the ocean and our commitments.

Since 2020, in Italy, the school project has been vital to the “Together for the Oceans” campaign. It aims at educating in the culture of sustainability, especially the younger generations, because only through a constant commitment to environmental and sustainability education will be possible to foster a change in behavior and lifestyle choices capable of creating a better, richer, greener, healthier and fairer future for all. The project is aimed at children between 7 and 10 years old, their families and teachers. The project contributes to strengthening the educational role of partnership’s communication and stimulating children to get involved in facing the great global ocean challenges.

In 2023, the story of the little girl and the Ocean also became a theatre play for children aged 3 and up and was staged in Italy in these three cities: Rome, Milan and Naples.

6. Conservation Projects:

The partnership furthermore aims also at integrating a wider conservation approach by supporting a WWF conservation project in Ecuador. The project has the aim of safeguarding mangrove forests and supporting ancestral communities in the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador. The initiative supports the renewal of land protection concessions for 6,093 hectares of mangroves, with the goal of extending this protection program to more than 8,000 hectares. 

In the 1970s and 1980s the coverage of mangrove forests had been greatly reduced due to deforestation to make room for shrimp farms. In fact, 31% of the mangrove ecosystem in Pacific South America is in Ecuador, where the Gulf of Guayaquil is home to 80% of the country’s mangroves.  

Together with WWF we support local communities by providing them with technical assistance to enable them to implement or renew mangrove concessions recognized by the Ecuadorian government. We also co-fund area delineation actions and donate equipment, such as computer and radio communication tools, with the aim of strengthening the communities’ capacity to monitor, supervise and protect the mangroves themselves. 

Mangroves are an essential resource for the planet. Thanks to their capacity to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, they are a surprising solution to mitigate the effects of climate change and preserve the balance between ecosystems.  Mangroves, together with kelp forests and Posidonia Oceanica meadows, form the so-called blue forest, a relatively unknown resource but one that has a vital role to play in combating climate change.