John West, ASDA: There’s not enough pole-and-line tuna

U.K. retailers Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s recently stated they will only source pole-and-line tuna, but canned fish specialist John West and ASDA, part of the Wal-Mart group, do not see this a feasible.

“It is unrealistic to replace purse seine vessels with pole-and-line vessels because pole and line today only supply only 4 percent of total canned tuna production," John West told IntraFish.

ASDA took a similar stance. “Is there enough fully traceable pole-and-line out there for this to be fully met?” asked Chris Brown, ASDA’s head of sustainable and ethical sourcing.

“We’ve