Greenpeace USA Ocean Campaigns Director John Hocevar said he hopes the guilty verdict in the Bumble Bee tuna price fixing case will lead the broader industry to address serious concerns about the environment and human rights.
For too long, the tuna industry has done whatever it takes to make a quick buck, in Hocevar’s view.
“Whether by colluding with other brands, misleading consumers, jeopardizing workers, or destroying our oceans, the industry has consistently put profits before anything else,” he told IntraFish via email.
“People deserve to pay a fair price, know what’s in their can, and trust that workers catching tuna are doing so sustainably and under safe and just working conditions.”
On Tuesday a jury in the US District Court in San Francisco found former Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski guilty of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna sold in the United States.
Lischewski faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $10 million (€10.2 million) in fines. Sentencing will be carried out at a later date.
Hocevar commented on the announcement of Lischewski's conviction on his Facebook page, prompting plenty of responses.
"He actively lobbied EVERYONE to not meet GP demands ... for yeeeeaaarrrrrssssss," one commenter, who also works at Greenpeace, posted. "Love love love that karma, slash the law, is coming back to bite him."
Hocevar is a persistent and vocal critic of tuna canning companies operating in the US market.
In 2014 he slammed Bumble Bee for selling tuna in “incredibly destructive ways."
Two years later he said the big three major tuna brands, which control approximately 80 percent of the US market, “don’t offer a single sustainable tuna product under their flagship brands."
