News Summary July 11, 2017
Today's Main Story: Thai Union and Greenpeace Sign Agreement on Tuna Harvesting and Labor Issues
Leading the headlines today is a focus on Thai Union, owner of international brands Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch, and Greenpeace which announced an agreement that will tackle illegal fishing, overfishing, and labor abuse issues in the tuna industry. The agreement marks a major milestone in Greenpeace’s campaign to reform tuna industry practices, and marks a move from confrontation to cooperation. Greenpeace has been highly critical of the big three US tuna brands: Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, and Bumble Bee. They have led numerous demonstrations and protests, and they have strongly pressured retailers to reduce their reliance on these major brands.
In other news, July 15th marks the opening of the Texas offshore brown shrimp season. But this year, according the Texas Shrimp Association, the industry faces “one of [its] biggest crises in years.” At issue is Congress stripping the returning worker provision from the H2B visa laws, meaning that experienced shrimp crew from Mexico that have worked on boats for years will not be allowed to do so this year. This problem has impacted the seafood industry from Maryland
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