BLUEYOU LAUNCHES FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED™ TUNA PROGRAMME

Blueyou launches Fair Trade Certified™ Tuna Programme. Ahead of World Tuna Day, Blueyou launches Fair Trade Certified™ tuna programme in Maldives to support sustainable seafood and coastal communities.

Swiss impact-driven seafood company, Blueyou, has announced the launch of its Fair Trade Certified™ tuna programme in the Maldives in partnership with Fair Trade USA. The initiative combines sustainable fisheries, restorative mariculture and community development to strengthen seafood supply chains and improve livelihoods.

The initiative will partner with 25 island communities across eight atolls, benefiting approximately 30,000 people, including 2,500 tuna fishers and 500 women engaged in sea cucumber farming alongside seagrass conservation and restoration efforts.

The fisheries component focuses on skipjack and yellowfin tuna harvested using traditional pole-and-line fishing, widely considered one of the most environmentally responsible fishing
methods.

“Blueyou’s full-scale programme has the potential to become a gamechanger for the participating fishing communities,” said Josh Nelson, seafood programme manager at Fair Trade USA. “Together, we will channel more than $700,000 in Fair Trade Community Development Funds into island communities in the Maldives.”

By scaling the Fair Trade model to 200 fishing vessels with an annual catch capacity of 20,000 metric tons, the programme aims to significantly expand market access in Europe and North America while increasing incomes for local fishers and funding community-led environmental and social projects.

“Our programme demonstrates how sustainable fisheries, community empowerment, social inclusion and marine conservation can work together to build resilient blue food systems,”
said Shakir Mohamed, Blueyou’s programme manager in the Maldives. “By combining Fair Trade value chains with climate-smart restorative mariculture, we are creating new income opportunities while protecting the ecosystems that coastal communities depend on.”

A key element of the initiative is the organisation of women mariculture harvesters into Fair Trade Committees to lead new livelihood activities, particularly sea cucumber cultivation, while strengthening inclusive governance and community decision-making.

Blueyou’s Fair Trade tuna programme is designed to supply a significant volume of shelf-stable tuna products to global markets, with a focus on Europe and North America. The company has secured distribution partnerships with followfood in Europe and envisible and Arkk Food in the United States.

“Our five-year plan is to supply 500 freight containers of Fair Trade Certified canned tuna to retail markets,” said René Benguerel, co-founder and CEO of Blueyou. “Fair Trade matters not only for coffee and bananas, but also for seafood producers. Our programme helps seafood buyers mitigate social risks, which remain a major challenge in the global tuna industry.”

Image: Blueyou