In less than two weeks the largest global tuna industry meeting, TUNA 2014, will take off. Major tuna industry players, tuna governing bodies, NGOs, service providers and government officials will gather in Bangkok for the conference and exhibition to be held from 21-23 May. With the theme “Working Together towards a Sustainable Industry”, the conference this year will be chaired by Renato Curto, President and CEO of Tri Marine International, USA, a well-known figure in the global tuna industry. Three ministers from major tuna producing countries, H.E. Mohamed Shainee, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture of the Maldives, H.E Mao Zeming, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Papua New Guinea and H.E Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Sri Lanka will join this prestigious gathering which will be officiated by the Director General of Fisheries, Thailand, Mr. Niwat Sutemechaikul.

The keynote address by the conference chairman, Renato Curto will highlight the quest for sustainability, satisfying the customer and communicating the industry’s commitment. Thirty one (31) speakers will address various issues affecting the industry during this two and a half day gathering. Exciting debates are expected from the start until the last day of the conference. Audun Lem from FAO will discuss the global tuna industry scenario while regional reviews will be from Glenn Hurry (WCPFC), Rondolph Payet (IOTC) and Michael Hinton (IATTC). Private sector’s initiatives to address issues related to sustainable tuna industry will feature speakers from the International Seafood Sustainable Foundation (ISSF) Susan Jackson, the International Pole and Line Foundation (Emily Howgate) and Transform Aqorau of the Parties to Nauru Agreement (PNA).

Updates on fishing industry status in the major tuna producing nations are covered by speakers from Japan (Akira Nakamae, Kaimaki), South Korea (Kwang Se-Lee) and Spain (Julio Moron). The latest market and marketing trends in the Americas, Europe and Asia including the Middle East for canned and non-canned tuna products will be thoroughly discussed during the second day of the conference. Chaired by Christopher Lischewski, President and CEO of Bumble Bee this session brings together reputable speakers from the industry and international organizations: Dave F Melbourne (Bumble Bee), Mike Walsh (Orca Bay Seafood), Juan Vieites Baptista de Sousa (Eurothon/ANFACO), Dario Chemerinski (Costa d’Oro SpA, Brazil), Hidenao Watanabe (Japan), Fatima Ferdouse (INFOFISH), Luciano Pirovano (Bolton Alimentari) and Adel Fahmy (Gulf Food Industries).

For the first time the conference will feature a market access session with Henk Brus (Pacifical CV), Francisco Blaha (Fisheries Advisor), Jerome Broche (DG Trade, EU Commission), Chanintr Chalisarapong (Thai Tuna Industry Association) and Luis Fletcher (CONAPESCA, Mexico). The session will be end with a screening of “Saving Tuna Film” produced by UNDP for Discovery Channel Asia.

The “green session” highlighting mainstream eco-label certifiers and environmentalist groups introduces first time speakers David Phillips of the Earth Island Institute and Masashi Nishimura of Marine Eco-Label Japan as well as speakers from the Marine Stewardship Council (Bill Holden) and Friend of the Sea (Paolo Bray) to discuss costs and benefits of their respective certification programmes. The conference will also have deliberations from major NGOs on sustainability and eco-labeling programmes namely from the WWF- USA (William Fox), IWMC World Conservation Trust (Eugene Lapointe), The Pew Environment Group-USA (Amanda Nickson) and Geenpeace- USA (Casson Trenor).

In addition, TUNA 2014 also brings to you a parallel session featuring technological developments and fishing with Silgan Plastic Food Containers, USA and the International Pole and Line Foundation, UK which will take place on 22 May 2014.

An exhibition showcasing latest products, technology and services will be held at the same venue. For details of TUNA 2014 please visit:www.tunatradeconference.com.