Seafood industry joins chorus of groups calling for halt to deep-sea mining plans

Fishers and retailers say mining's impact on tuna fishing in the Pacific might be felt on supermarket shelves around the world

Seafood groups representing a third of the world's tuna trade as well as major supermarket suppliers are the latest groups to call for a pause on deep-sea mining, after a new study published today showed tropical tuna fishing grounds in the Pacific would overlap with mining plans.

The Global Tuna Alliance partners, which account for 32% of global tuna sales and represent Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Aldi in the UK, joined the Sustainable Seafood Coalition, made up of 45 British seafood firms, to condemn the rush to mine the seabed.