How to use the Sourcing Transparency Platform
Buying tuna that is sustainably caught can have powerful economic, social and environmental benefits. The Sourcing Transparency Platform (STP) has been designed to make one-by-one tuna supply chains more transparent and to create a conversation from B2B and from company-to-customer. Each company has populated their page with information to give in-depth insight into their sustainable operations. This enables transparency that is vital for creating conversations for how we should be sourcing and consuming tuna, to be responsible, ethical, and truly support the coastal communities that we rely upon for our seafood.
For Consumers: How-to-Guide
Our oceans are the home of marine wildlife that make up complex ecosystems that we want to preserve so they can continue to thrive for future generations. To respect the ocean, we must support fisheries that have a minimal environmental impact, so it does not affect other ocean species or ecosystems. Choosing one-by-one caught tuna (being pole-and-line, handline, or troll) from coastal small-scale fisheries is the only tuna fishing method for us, which is considered to be environmentally safe, socially responsible, and based on generations of tradition. This fishing method not only allows tuna species to flourish by not overfishing delicate stocks, but it also minimises plastic pollution, reduces bycatch from other marine life, and benefits the communities on land. You can use the STP to find responsible tuna products near you!
• Explore your local area; search for products, brands, and retailers and find responsible tuna products that are available in your geography. By using our maps, you can filter by region, company, retailer and product: from the can in your hand you can follow it all the way back to the fisheries where it was sourced from.
• Follow the pathway that your tuna has taken to get from the different oceans to your plates, meet the fishers that catch one-by-one tuna and learn more about the different tuna species, fishing techniques, and environmental benefits of one-by-one caught tuna.
The STP will take you through the foggy waters of the many tuna products that are available to buy, showing you one-by-one sustainable products near you, helping empower you to know what to look for when buying sustainable tuna. Don’t be fooled by stickers, stamps, and claims; instead, you want to look for the fishing method that is marked as "one-by-one" such as pole-and-line, troll, or handline. This signals that you are buying premium quality tuna and supporting the preservation of marine life and local coastal communities. The products on the STP are only one-by-one caught tuna and links are provided so you can find out where to purchase them.
For Companies: How-to-Guide
The ocean sustains all life on our planet and is fundamental to human survival and our well-being. It is therefore crucial that the world’s fisheries should be sustainably managed and that the livelihoods they support should be safeguarded. The health of our oceans is becoming an increasing concern for consumers, heightening the need for greater transparency throughout seafood supply chains. As part of our 2025 Commitment, the IPNLF community commits to driving transparency, social responsibility and environmental sustainability in their one-by-one tuna supply chains. The STP has been created for IPNLF commercial members, with the overall aim of collaboratively improving the transparency of one-by-one tuna supply chains through the public disclosure of sourcing information.
Companies showcase their sustainable business choices in their supply chain and organisation and how their commitments and sourcing policies help safeguarding coastal livelihoods, contributing to food security and strengthening local economies.
As an organisation, IPNLF supports new and existing fisheries so that more people can enjoy environmentally responsible one-by-one tuna products. With this platform, both consumers and commercial companies can find your profile. Your page highlights the one-by-one products you carry, the fisheries these products are sourced from, whilst also providing additional information about the policies and commitments IPNLF members have made.
How to join
Environmental sustainability in tuna fisheries is only possible if small-scale local fisheries are supported by retailers, brands, distributors and processors. The STP provides the platform to champion these small scale fisheries and their supply chains. Interested in supporting the International Pole and Line Foundation's work?You can join as a member, membership is open to all companies associated with the one-by-one tuna supply chain. Each commercial member is vetted through our Code of Conduct Assessment and is expected to demonstrate alignment with the IPNLF 2025 Commitment. You can apply for IPNLF membership through this online form, and IPNLF's Managing Director Martin Purves will join you for a personal meeting.